


Pine Crest Kids

by dream_maker



Category: Big Brother RPF
Genre: Fanfiction, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-04-01 04:05:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 42,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4005217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dream_maker/pseuds/dream_maker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zach finally becomes a teacher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Day of School

**_Zach_ **

****

Zach arrived at Pine Crest early in the morning on August 22, 2018. It was his first day as a middle school math teacher at the elite private school in Boca Raton. No, the irony did not escape him that he would be teaching at Pine Crest, the very school that Frankie Grande had attended and that Zach had teased him about during their first week in the Big Brother house during Big Brother 16.

 

“I know what Pine Crest kids are like,” Zach had mocked knowingly. Frankie had been less than enamored with that early interaction but their relationship had survived that minor hiccup, only to face many more bigger ones throughout the summer and on into real life following the end of the show.

 

Zach returned to school in the fall of 2016, receiving both his Masters Degree in Education and teaching certification in one year from his beloved University of Florida. He did the required year of student teaching in 2017-18 at a public school in Palm Beach, then began looking for full time employment.

 

He just assumed he would teach in a public school near where he grew up. He was a south Florida boy and had no desire to ever live far from his family.  However, he was actually recruited by Pine Crest.  The principal, Mr. Thornton, who was friendly with the Grandes, had watched Big Brother 16 and followed Zach and Frankie on social media after the show ended. He knew about Zach’s career plans and sought to bring him to Pine Crest, knowing his boisterous personality and unique character would be a great addition to the school.

 

Zach was initially skeptical about working at an elite private school, but after going through an extensive interview process, he was sold.  The Boca Raton campus was absolutely beautiful. The resources for teachers were cutting edge and impressive.  He was offered a very competitive salary for a teacher, which included a full package of benefits. Zach knew that the student body would be wealthy and privileged but he saw that as a challenge.  And in addition to being a full time math teacher, Mr. Thornton had enticed Zach further by asking if he was interested in coaching the golf team. Yes, Pine Crest even had a middle school golf team. Zach was sold, not only because it would add to his salary but because … well, golf.  Duh Rose!

 

Middle school was a challenging age to teach but also an age that he thought would be extremely rewarding. When Zach met with one of his favorite grad school professors for career advice, she told him, “If you want to be a babysitter, teach elementary school. If you want to be a cop, teach high school. But if you want to build character, teach middle school.”

 

That advice really stuck with Zach and helped cement his decision to pursue a career with this challenging but ultimately impressionable age group of children.

 

By the time students had spent a year in his classroom, they would not only excel in math; they would also be exposed to the Zach Rance School of Hard Knocks. He wouldn’t let students get away with excuses or half-ass performances. He would set the bar high and expect all students to strive to reach it. Late homework? Inexcusable. Zero credit. Late to class? After three tardies, students would be expected to stay after school daily for one week and do extra assignments. Bathroom passes? Two per semester maximum. Use the bathroom before class or hold it. He also would not tolerate anything but the highest of character. He would treat students with respect and expected the same in return.

 

He had spent the week prior to the first day of school setting up his classroom.  Despite being an admitted slob for most of his life, Zach had cleaned up his act since moving out of his parents’ home. His small apartment was extremely organized. He didn’t have a lot of space in the two-bedroom apartment so for everything there was a place. Similarly, his classroom was very orderly. There was a resource center in one corner with a bookshelf that contained math books, answer keys, several computers, mathematical board games, and other resources.  The 20 desks were set up in four neat rows of five desks each.  Students would be expected to have their textbooks, calculators, pencils, notebooks and folders each day.  Bright color posters covered the walls, including pictures of many of his favorite sports figures. Zach wanted his students to know his personality and passions outside of being a teacher.

 

He used one section of the large white board to write the week’s assignments for each of the two math classes he was teaching, and students would be expected to copy that information into their notebook each Monday. He also had a state of the art computer that projected onto the white board so he could present lessons using Power Point or other software, making the lessons clear and hopefully easy to understand. He would be teaching 3 periods of 7th grade math and 2 periods of Algebra for advanced 8th grade math students. He was ready!!

 

As Zach sat quietly in the classroom drinking his coffee and enjoying the quiet before the storm, he reflected back on the road that had gotten him to this day.

 

After Big Brother ended, Zach embarked on what would be one of the most challenging years of his life. He was completely overwhelmed by his popularity when the show ended. He got a slight hint that he might be popular when some fans yelled “we love you Zach” over the wall but he wasn’t prepared for literally hundreds of thousands of social media followers. Of course the fact that he had promoted his user name Ranceypants at every opportunity on air certainly didn’t hurt.

 

Everyone wanted a piece of Zach. He was sought for interviews and podcasts and even some TV appearances such as a recurring role on _The Bold and the Beautiful_. But in addition to wanting a piece of Zach, they also wanted the scoop on Zankie. Julie Chen had declared to Zach during his eviction interview that at its best, Zankie was “probably the greatest showmance this show has ever seen.” Zach knew at that moment that Zankie was going to be the prevailing theme of his post BB life.

 

And the truth was that Zankie was more than “a really good friendship,” as he had described it to Julie.  If he had to post his relationship status on Facebook, it would’ve definitely been “It’s complicated.” When Frankie arrived in jury after being evicted in 5th place, Zach had been both thrilled and sorry to see him. He had been surprised how intensely he missed Frankie, but also wanted him to win the whole thing. So when Frankie walked through that door, his heart both leapt and sunk at the same time. Frankie, however, had no regrets and was nothing but his normal exuberant self. He made an immediate beeline to Zach and wrapped him in a huge hug, whispering so that the cameras wouldn’t hear, “I missed you so much. We need to talk.”

 

And they did find some time to talk privately in jury although always within hearing distance of the chaperones who monitored them at all times to make sure they didn’t discuss game.  Frankie made it clear to Zach that his feelings for him were more than platonic. He said that he felt a vibe throughout the summer that Zach felt the same way but could never be sure since Zach continued to identify as straight. Zach acknowledged that he too had feelings that went beyond friendship but he wasn’t really sure what to do about that.

 

What followed over the next six months or so was a turbulent love affair that sometimes but not always played out on social media. Zach finally acknowledged to himself, Frankie and his very closest friends that he was bisexual, an admission that did not really surprise those who had observed him in college, flirting as often with men as with women. He had never slept with a man in college but he had made out with a few. Zach was not ready to go public with this admission, however, and thus his interactions with Frankie were usually kept quiet, a situation that did not sit well with Frankie.

 

When they were together and intimate, the chemistry was off the charts. Their first time together other than a few secret kisses in jury and during their Starbucks date, was Zankieween. Sleeping with a man for the first time was almost like a rebirth for Zach and he would never forget it. He was still attracted to women, but he had to admit he had never ever had a sexual experience as electric and overwhelming as that night with Frankie. While they were not in a committed relationship, they were together again when Zach went to Frankie’s Rock of Ages premiere.  

 

The next couple months were turbulent as they grappled with a long distance relationship coupled with not being monogamous. Zach knew that Frankie was dating and he was seething with jealousy. Of course he could date too but his few feeble attempts at Tinder meet ups were disasters. However, he had no right to ask anything of Frankie when he was unable to publicly acknowledge their relationship or his own sexuality.

 

By the time Zach moved to New York in January, they were barely speaking.  Zach went through with the move anyway, knowing he had some professional opportunities there and also wanting to spread his wings a little bit and get out of Florida. He also wanted to be closer to Frankie again to try and figure out what there was between them.

 

His first morning in New York, he woke up to a flurry of Twitter activity as the fandom reacted to Frankie’s emotional Twitter breakdown overnight. Zach’s decision to reach out via the infamous “isotope” tweet was a no-brainer. Rather than be angry at Frankie for basically outing Zach by calling him “confusing,” Zach felt both sadness and compassion. He felt terrible that his own insecurities had led to Frankie’s confusion and was furious at that asshole Michael who had apparently hurt Frankie badly. But if he were being honest, he was also grateful that Michael had blown it with Frankie, because it gave him the opportunity to step in. The surprise at the stage door on January 16th followed by the fairly obvious visual of two men madly in love at 54 Below left little doubt that Zankie was more than platonic. And that week had been pure magic and passion for Zach and Frankie. Including a viral Snapchat that would not soon be forgotten.

 

But Zach panicked and pulled back. Frankie was devastated. By the time he left for Africa, the passion of January 16-21 had cooled way down and Zach was feeling both sad and homesick. When he moved back to Florida after barely a month in New York, Frankie was basically done. He told Zach that he would always love him but could not deal with Zach’s closeted sexuality nor did he want to be in a long distance relationship.

 

They continued to talk on and off throughout 2015 and even saw each other a few times secretly, never posting any evidence of their get-togethers on social media. And whenever they saw each other, they hooked up. Despite their complicated relationship and emotionally exhausting interactions, when they were naked together there was nothing like it. Even Frankie who’d slept with many MANY men had to admit that being with Zach was exhilarating beyond any other relationship he’d had.

 

But in early 2016, Frankie met Bradley, a fitness instructor and aspiring dancer from LA.  For the first time since leaving the Big Brother house, Frankie felt like he had met a man who liked him for who he was as a person and not for his celebrity or that of his sister. Within a few weeks of meeting, Frankie began posting photos of them together on social media. The Grandtourage went nuts, thrilled to see Frankie with an out and proud gorgeous gay man at last. The Zankie fans quietly accepted the situation and most of them were happy for Frankie since they really adored him just as much as they did Zach.

 

Zach felt a twinge of sadness when Frankie went public with Bradley. He and Frankie had long since decided they were better off as friends. They continued to text and Snapchat each other occasionally but when Frankie began dating Bradley, those interactions became less frequent until they died out completely by the middle of 2016. Zach was happy for Frankie but he knew that he would never really be over him.

 

When Zach went back to graduate school, he decided it was time to be honest and public about his sexuality.  He was still broadcasting occasionally on YouNow at the time and late one night, he just suddenly and impulsively told the loyal Zacharoos who still watched his broadcasts that he was bisexual. He explained that he had never lied to them because he most definitely was attracted to women and loved dating women. But he admitted that he had dated men as well and he no longer wanted to keep that private.

 

Of course the chat was immediately flooded with questions about Frankie. Was Zankie real? Did you hook up? Were you in love? Do you still love Frankie? Zach pretty much ignored the questions but did say that as far as what had happened in the past, he wanted to keep that private but that he had been quietly bisexual since Big Brother ended so they could do with that what they wanted.

 

Zach hadn’t had any long-term relationships since his turbulent relationship with Frankie. He dated both men and women fairly equally when he was in Gainsville for school. He sometimes would date one person for a month or two but never really longer than that. He was very busy with school and also working two part time jobs to help pay his tuition so he didn’t have that much free time to dedicate to a relationship.

 

But the good thing about his casual dating was that he became very comfortable identifying as a bisexual man. He told anyone he dated that he was bisexual. Some women he met were a little freaked out by it and just assumed he was gay. So those weren’t the right women for him. But he found that most people were very accepting of his sexuality and were not at all bothered. Zach enjoyed dating around and having different sexual experiences with both men and women. The truth was that in college, he talked a big game but was very insecure and uncomfortable with the whole dating and hooking up world. During the past two years of dating as an openly bisexual man, he really felt like he came into his own sexually and he knew he was a much better lover than he had been during his “get drunk and jackhammer” days.

 

Zach’s reminiscing was interrupted as the door to the classroom opened and students began filing in. Zach greeted them at the door and told them to find the desk with their nametag on it. Once everyone was seated, Zach walked to the front of the class, took a deep breath and greeted his first ever class.

 

“Good morning. My name is Mr. Rance and I will be your 7th grade math teacher. Welcome to my class. I’m looking forward to a great year. Okay, time to take roll.”

 

 

**_Frankie_ **

 

“Hurry up Bradley, we’re gonna be late!”

 

“But I can’t find my white v-neck. I hate living out of suitcases!”

 

Frankie sighed with exasperation, “Here, just wear this,” he said, tossing a white button down at him.

 

Frankie and Bradley had just arrived in Boca the evening before and were still getting settled in the Grande’s Boca home. This opportunity had just presented itself the week before and it came at a perfect time for Frankie. The assignment would last about four months and then Frankie could get back to whatever new entertainment gig his agent could line up.

 

Mr. Thornton had contacted Frankie’s agent two weeks earlier. Pine Crest had an elaborate musical theater program and their long time theater teacher had been diagnosed with breast cancer and needed to take the semester off for treatment. They needed someone to direct the middle school’s fall musical production of Hairspray. Mr. Thornton appealed to Frankie’s love of the school and of musical theater and pleaded with him to take the job.

 

Frankie remembered fondly his musical theater days at Pine Crest. His schedule was actually fairly open so he moved a few things around and found a way to make it work. He also arranged for Bradley to be hired as well to assist with choreography and overall production. They had a meeting with Mr. Thornton at 10:00 and it was already 9:15. They needed to leave soon.

 

They found a spot in the parking lot just a few minutes before 10:00. Frankie took Bradley’s hand and they walked quickly to the front office.

 

Mr. Thornton greeted Frankie warmly, welcoming him back to his alma mater. He met with Frankie and Bradley for about 30 minutes, describing the program and explaining that musical theater met during 6th period each day.  He took them over to the theater and showed them around. Of course it was a state-of-the-art facility with a lighting and sound system that rivaled any professional theater in New York. ‘

 

Mr. Thornton told them that a substitute teacher had been arranged for the first day of class to give them time to get acclimated but if they liked they could go into the class and meet the students at some point during the period.

 

Mr. Thornton was certainly aware of the previous relationship between Frankie and Zach. As a fan of Big Brother and someone who followed them both on social media, he knew all about Zankie. He also knew that it had ended a couple years earlier. He wasn’t sure but he had a feeling that Frankie and Zach were no longer in contact. He knew he had to let them know that they would both be teachers at the school but he wasn’t really sure how to break it to them. He decided he would wait until the next day.

 

Mr. Thornton took Frankie and Bradley out to lunch at a café nearby.  Frankie talked to him about their plans for the show. He and Bradley had spent hours during the prior week looking at the script and blocking out the different scenes. While the students were young, Frankie had no doubt that they would be experienced and talented. He was very excited to pull this show together.

 

By the time they came back to campus, 6th period had begun.  Frankie asked where the restroom was and Mr. Thornton pointed him to the faculty restroom down the hall in the office.

 

**_Zach_ **

 

Zach’s prep period was period 6. This actually worked well for him since it allowed him time to prepare for the next day classes and also to get ready for his golf program which would occur after school three days a week. 

 

He was really pleased with how the first day of class had gone. He felt like he immediately got the students’ attention with his no nonsense approach to education and responsibility. But he had also been funny and entertaining and the students seemed engaged and even excited about math.  Of course there were a few students here and there that Zach knew would be challenging. But that was to be expected and he was actually looking forward to whipping those kids into shape, so to speak.

 

Zach finished preparing the next day lessons and had about 20 minutes before he had to be out on the field to begin prepping for golf.  He locked his classroom and headed over to the office to use the restroom.

 

Zach stood at the urinal doing his business, noticing that one of the stall doors was locked and hearing humming coming from behind the door, which made him smile.  As he walked over to wash his hands, the stall door opened. Zach looked in the mirror to see which of his colleagues was a potty singer.

 

As his eyes glimpsed at the blonde man walking toward the sink, he froze, stunned at who he saw.  He slowly turned around and met his eyes.

 

Frankie stopped in his tracks, his hand flying to his mouth as he struggled to understand what he was seeing.

 

“Frankie? What the fuck are you doing here?”


	2. Expect the Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even when you're yelling at me  
> I still think you're beautiful  
> Through it all you could still make  
> My heart skip, heart skip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut alert. :)

When Frankie walked off toward the bathroom, Mr. Thornton, whose first name was Tom, picked up his office phone to call Zach’s classroom. He wanted to check in with him to see how his first day went and to make sure he had everything he needed to meet with the golf team.

 

No one answered the phone, so Tom called Sara Rivera, another math teacher whose classroom was adjacent to Zach’s. She also had a 6th period prep. She picked up on the second ring.

 

“Hi Sara. It’s Tom. How did the first day go?”

 

“Oh hi, Tom,” Sara replied, “It went pretty well thanks.”

 

“Hey Sara, I’m looking for Zach Rance, the new teacher in the room next door. I just called but he didn’t answer. Have you seen him?”

 

“Oh yeah,” Sara answered, “I saw him a few minutes ago lock up his classroom and head toward the office. Maybe he wanted to use the restroom before golf or something.”

 

“Oh okay, great,” Tom replied, “thanks a lot, I’ll look for him.”

 

As Tom hung up the phone, it suddenly dawned on him. If Zach was coming to use the faculty restroom and Frankie was there…

 

“OH SHIT!” he muttered under his breath as he raced down the hallway.

 

*****

 

Before Frankie could even find his voice to respond to Zach, the bathroom door flew open and Tom burst in, face flushed and breathing hard. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Frankie and Zach staring at each other.  They turned to face him, both looking totally puzzled and a bit pissed off.

 

“Damn it,” Tom said.

 

“Tom… what the hell?” Frankie said throwing his arms up in the air.

 

Frankie knew that Tom was a Big Brother fan and that he was well aware of Zankie and all that it involved.  He could not imagine why Zach was at Pine Crest, but the fact that he was in the faculty restroom probably meant that the school now employed him. His alma mater. About which Zach had mocked him relentlessly. The irony was too much. He turned to Zach.

 

“What are you doing here anyway Zach?”

 

Tom cleared his throat and interjected, “Well, Zach came back to the area to student teach after he finished graduate school. I’ve followed him on social media ever since Big Brother, and I heard he was looking for a teaching job. I thought he would be a great addition to Pine Crest so I hired him as a math teacher. And golf coach.”

 

Zach jumped in sarcastically, “I know why I’m here. But Frankie, shouldn’t you be off hosting a red carpet or judging a talent show or basically living la vida Grande? I mean you’re in the faculty restroom too and I gotta say I’m totally confused.”

 

Again Tom provided the answer, “Our musical theater teacher is ill and has to take the semester off so I’ve hired Frankie to direct and produce our musical production of _Hairspray_. It’s a temporary position just through the semester.”

 

If looks could kill, Tom decided he would be laid out cold by the daggers coming at him from four eyeballs.

 

“You could’ve given me a heads up, Tom, “ Frankie said angrily.

 

“You could’ve given _both of us_ a heads up, TOM,” Zach echoed.

 

“I know, I know,” Tom sighed. “I’m sorry. I fully intended to talk to both of you. It’s just been so crazy all week getting ready for the first day of school and quite honestly I forgot. I thought about it today and figured I would tell both of you tomorrow. I’m really…”

 

Suddenly the bathroom door opened again and there stood Bradley. He looked at the trio standing before him and tried to comprehend what he saw. The man standing in front of the sink was Zach Rance. Bradley would know that face anywhere. When he and Frankie started dating, some of the diehard Zankie fans tweeted him pictures and videos of Zach and Frankie together. It was hard to ignore and extremely annoying. Frankie apologized repeatedly to Bradley and then finally put out a tweet kindly asking fans to respect his relationship with Bradley and please not bombard the two of them with Zankie stuff. Frankie said that he and Zach would always be friendly (an exaggeration of course) but that he was moving on. And thankfully the tweets finally stopped. But Bradley would still know Zach’s face anywhere.

 

“Um Bradley,” Frankie said hesitatingly, “this is…”

 

I know who it is,” Bradley said with some annoyance. He took a step toward Zach and reached to shake his hand, “Zach? I’m Bradley. Frankie’s _boyfriend_ and co-producer of Pine Crest’s musical. Nice to meet you. Mind if I ask what the hell you’re doing here?”

 

“Well, love,” Frankie answered snidely, “Apparently Tom hired Zach to be a math teacher this year and neglected to mention it to me when we discussed the job.”

 

Frankie’s tone was nasty and he knew he was a being awful. He was pissed and uncomfortable and if he were being honest, dying a little inside seeing Zach in the flesh.

 

“Listen Frankie,” Zach replied angrily, “I’m so SORRY if my presence here interrupts your little play with your boyfriend. But this is my job and I’m here to teach my students math and to coach the best fucking middle school golf team in Florida. You’re just gonna have to deal with it. Man up, dude, and stop being such a whiney bitch.”

 

He turned to Bradley and nodded coldly, “Nice to meet you Bradley.” Then without even acknowledging Tom, he walked out of the bathroom, head held high.

 

Zach marched as quickly as he could out of the office and out to the field where he’d be meeting the golf team.  All the equipment was there already so Zach had ten minutes to process what had just happened. He sat down on a bench and buried his head in his hand, tangling his hands into his unruly hair,

 

Frankie? Frankie fucking Grande? He was absolutely the last person Zach expected to see that morning when he set out for the first day at his new job. And Bradley? I mean, sure he seemed like a nice enough guy, but there was just something about the superior way he greeted Zach. As if to say, “Haha motherfucker, I win.”

 

Yeah Zach knew that was his own paranoia and bias seeping in, but there was definitely something a bit condescending about the guy. Zach knew that he was very quick to judge people but he found that about 95% of the time, his initial impression was dead on. And his initial impression of Bradley was that he was a douche.

 

But what was really bothering Zach was how shaken he was to see Frankie in the flesh. It has been almost three years since they last saw each other. Even when they were fighting or at odds, when they were physically in the same space, they ended up in bed. They just couldn’t help themselves.

 

By the end of summer 2015 they were completely broken up and had decided once and for all that they would be just be friends. No friends with benefits. Just friends. 

 

The Big Brother 17 finale was in September of that year. Most of the cast from Big Brother 16 flew to Los Angeles for the finale and all the festivities. When Zach and Frankie saw each other, they exchanged a warm hug but kept it very platonic.  Most of the cast was staying at the Burbank Marriott, so since they weren’t able to get seats in the small CBS studio where Big Brother was filmed, they all gathered at the hotel bar to watch the finale. The drinks were flowing and before long everyone was pretty drunk.

 

Zach was sitting next Nicole and Hayden and they were laughing and having a good time. He glanced across the big table and saw Frankie with his arms draped around Cody. He knew Cody was 100% straight but the Frody thing always got under his skin. Zach knew that Frankie had used pictures of Frody on social media to make him jealous and to whip the fandom into a frenzy.  Finally Zach couldn’t take it anymore and excused himself to go to the restroom.

 

Frankie had noticed Zach watching him fawn over Cody and he knew that Zach was pissed. He had to admit he was trying to provoke Zach a little by cuddling with Cody. Frankie didn’t drink often but he was letting loose on this night and he was up for a little drama. And he was horny as fuck, especially after seeing how good Zach looked.  A few minutes after Zach left the table, Frankie quietly got up and walked toward the bathroom. Cody turned and watched him walk away then looked at Derrick and shook his head.

 

Frankie walked into the restroom and saw Zach standing at the sink washing his hands.  He was staring into the mirror just letting the water run over his hands, clearly deep in thought.

 

Frankie interrupted his solitude, “Hey there, didn’t you know California is in an epic drought? No wasting water, Zach,” he teased as he pranced toward the sink.

 

Zach turned toward Frankie and smirked, slurring his words a bit, “Whatre you doin in here Frankie? Doesn’t Cody miss having you wrapped ‘round him?”

 

“Why Zach, I do declare, I think you’re jealous,” Frankie flirted in his best Clarabelle voice.

 

Zach took a couple steps toward Frankie closing the distance between them. He grabbed Frankie roughly by the shoulders and smashed their lips together in a deep kiss, grinding his hips against Frankie. Frankie let out a low moan, then pulled away and huskily whispered, “Zach what are you doing?”

 

Zach simply replied, “Your room or mine?”

 

When Frankie didn’t respond, Zach took him by the hand and led him out of the restroom and toward the bank of elevators.

 

“Should we say goodbye to everyone or something?” Frankie asked as they stepped into an elevator by themselves. Zach pressed the button for the 6th floor.

 

“Fuck ‘em,” Zach growled as he pushed Frankie against the wall of the elevator, joining their lips together again. Frankie wrapped one arm around Zach’s neck and the other on his ass, trying to pull him closer, even as their bodies were rocking against each other.

 

The elevator dinged as it slowed toward the 6th floor. Zach reluctantly pulled away from Frankie, noticing that Frankie’s lips were red and swollen, his eyes dilated. Wordlessly Zach took Frankie’s hand and led him to his room.  He inserted the key into the slot and opened the door.

 

Neither of them said anything. They both knew this was probably not a good idea. They had both agreed no more friends with benefits. They were just friends. And they were both “fine” with that. Except the problem was that when they were together in the same physical space, especially after a drink or two, it was almost impossible to resist the attraction and the need they had for one another.

 

And so they moved without words. Zach wrapped Frankie in his arms, joining their lips again and he lifted him and laid him on the bed.   Zach stood up and began to undress, slowly unbuttoning his shirt, letting it slide off his shoulders. Zach was in the best shape of his life, and his tanned muscular body glistened in the low light of the room. He kicked off his shoes and removed his jeans, only leaving on a tight pair of black briefs which barely contained his very hard cock..

 

Frankie watched him silently, marveling at the beauty of this man. Once Zach finished undressing, he turned his attention to Frankie.  He pulled Frankie’s shirt over his head then leaned down and began kissing him along his ear and his neck. He paused to bite down gently on Frankie’s earlobe, eliciting a soft moan as Frankie leaned back and closed his eyes. Zach moved down to Frankie’s chest, running his hands over his perfect abs and beautiful body. He took first one nipple then the other into his mouth licking and teasing until both were hard.

 

He continued to kiss down the center of Frankie’s abs, running his fingers under the waistband of his tight pink jeans and briefs.  Zach unzipped the jeans and worked them off of Frankie’s body then returned to slide the hot pink briefs down his legs.  Frankie’s dick sprang out of the briefs and Zach licked his lips.  He took Frankie’s hard cock into his hands and with his thumb gently spread the precum over the head teasing with his fingers. Then he lowered his head and took Frankie’s warm cock into his mouth, sucking and licking with abandon. Zach loved giving head. It was pretty obvious to anyone who watched him. He wasn’t even conscious of how often he stuck phallic shaped objects in his mouth. But his fans certainly noticed it on YouNow. He loved sucking Frankie’s cock. He knew what Frankie liked and he knew how to bring him to the edge.

 

But before Frankie could finish Zach pulled away and worked his way back up toward Frankie’s head, whispering in his ear, “I need you to fuck me.”

 

Frankie smiled internally, tangled his hands into Zach’s hair, then pushed him over onto his back, quickly taking over. This was how it was with Zach. He liked to be in charge at the beginning, get things started.  But when it came time to get fucked, he was putty in Frankie’s hands, preferring to be submissive. Frankie kissed Zach passionately, then teased him by grazing his teeth onto Zach’s neck and running his tongue over Zach’s ear. Zach groaned with pleasure as Frankie slowly pulled his briefs off, releasing his rock hard cock. Frankie whispered, “Turn over babe.”

 

Zach flipped onto his stomach, shaking with desire as Frankie placed small kisses along his back.  He pulled Zach’s hips up so that his ass was raised in the air. He pulled Zach’s ass cheeks apart and after licking his finger, began to slowly move it around Zach’s tight ring of muscles, feeling Zach relax. He lowered his face toward Zach’s ass and ran his tongue over the rim as Zach groaned with pleasure. Frankie licked up and down, like it was a lollipop then probed his tongue into the hole. As he felt Zach relax, he quickly licked his index finger and pushed it past the ring of muscles as Zach cried out with a mixture of pain and pleasure.  As his finger brushed past Zach’s prostate, he cried out again and Frankie inserted a second finger, slowly working the hole open. Frankie was hard and ready, but he took his time making sure that Zach was completely stretched out. After inserting the third finger, Zach was begging to be fucked.

 

“Condom… nightstand drawer,” he panted.

 

Frankie quickly unwrapped a lubricated condom and rolled it onto his throbbing cock then lined himself up carefully and pushed into Zach’s hole. He paused for a moment to let Zach get accustomed to the full sensation, then as Zach pushed back against him, Frankie began to slowly roll his hips. thrusting his cock deeply into Zach’s ass. Zach was so tight and warm that Frankie was seeing stars. He tried to control his thrusts to make it last but before long he was losing control and fucking Zach hard and fast as Zach came apart beneath him. After just a few moments Frankie felt the familiar tightening in his belly as he let out a cry and filled the condom.

 

He paused for a moment to catch his breath then pulled out and disposed of the condom. He quickly turned Zach onto his back, then leaned down and took Zach into his mouth. It was only about thirty seconds before Zach let out a loud groan and came down Frankie’s throat.  Frankie swallowed it all then moved back up Zach’s body and joined their lips in a passionate kiss as Zach wrapped his arms around Frankie and pulled him close.

 

After a few moments, Frankie pulled away and started to ask, “Zach… what are we doing?”

 

Zach interrupted him, “Shhh. No talking. It happened. It was amazing. That’s it. Let’s go to sleep. Please”

 

He pulled Frankie down so that he could spoon him and ran his hands up and down Frankie’s back.  Frankie could hear Zach’s breath slow down as he started to fall sleep. Frankie too was feeling the pull of sleep as he began to lose consciousness. But just before he drifted off, he heard Zach mumble under his breath, “I love you Frankie.”

 

Zach woke up the next morning with a splitting headache as the sun beamed into his room. He looked to his side and saw that Frankie had left at some point in the middle of the night. Zach looked around and finally found a note written on the hotel stationary, left on the desk.

 

_Zachary,_

_I’m headed back to New York this morning. It was great to see you. I wish you all the luck in the world in your future endeavors. You will always be in my heart._

_xo_

_Frankie_

Zach sighed, his eyes filling with tears. It had probably been a mistake but it also felt like the final period at the end of the long story of Zankie. They were great together when there were no words. When it was just the two of them touching and exploring and loving. But when there were words between them, they often ended in pain or anger. It was better this way. Wasn’t it?

 

*****

 

Although they had continued to text each other occasionally for awhile, the Big Brother 17 finale was the last time Zach had seen Frankie. Seeing him so unexpectedly today had completely disoriented Zach. He lifted his head from his hands and tried to shake it off. He had just a few minutes before his golfers were going to show up. He needed to get his shit together.

 

Zach was determined to make the best of the situation. He could do this. He could be an adult and mature. Bradley might have come across as a bit of a jerk, but Zach realized that the situation was unusual and he couldn’t blame the guy for being annoyed at seeing his boyfriend’s ex at work.  He was probably a nice enough person and if he made Frankie happy then Zach was happy for them.  They likely wouldn’t have to interact that much, Zach reasoned. He would be busy with teaching and golf and they would be dancing and singing. Hell their paths might not even cross at all. Zach loved his new job and he knew he was going to be great at it. When he needed to, Zach could be very strong willed. He told himself that he would be just fine. And he believed it. Pretty much.

 

He heard voices approaching and saw a group of eight young men walking toward him.

 

“Pine Crest golfers? Come on over. I’m Coach Rance. Let’s get started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think so far? I love any comments and feedback!


	3. The Show Must Go On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How soon do we forget  
> How we felt  
> Dealing with emotions  
> That never left  
> Playing with the hand that  
> We were dealt  
> In this game

After Zach’s angry exit from the bathroom, Frankie, Bradley and Tom stood in an awkward silence. Finally, Tom spoke,

“Frankie, I’m… um… again, I’m so sor—“

“Save it Tom. You fucked up, bottom line. When you offered me this job and pleaded with me to take it, the very next words out of your mouth should’ve been, ‘Oh and by the way, Zach Rance will be teaching at Pine Crest this year.’ I mean how does that slip your mind?”

“I don’t know, Frankie. I meant to tell both you and Zach, I really did.”

Bradley interrupted, “Guys, it doesn’t matter anymore. It is what it is. Zach is teaching math and coaching golf. We’re doing musical theater. Chances are we’ll hardly see the guy. Let’s just get on with it. I don’t want to talk about Zach Rance anymore. Don’t we have a class to meet?”

“You’re right, love. Tom, can you please take us back to the theater?” Frankie asked coldly. He was still furious with him.

As they walked toward the theater, Bradley and Tom were chatting about all the great amenities in the performing arts building. Frankie was walking a few steps behind, his mind wandering.

He couldn’t help but admit to himself that when Bradley pointed out that they would hardly see Zach on campus, Frankie felt a pang of disappointment. What was going on? He had long since gotten over Zach Rance and moved on with his life. Why was it that every time Zach showed up, it completely fucked with his brain? He had other ex-boyfriends whom he would run into from time to time and it was never a problem. Either they were friendly or they weren’t but there were never any lingering feelings. When Frankie was done, he was done. 

Except with Zach. He had never had such a passionate, frustrating, exciting, exacerbating, explosive, maddening relationship in all his life. Zach was the one who got away yet also the one he couldn’t wait to get rid of. It had taken him a long time to get over Zach, but after seeing him, today he wondered if “getting over” him was an exaggeration. More like he put his feelings into a Pandora’s Box (to use an old Big Brother reference) and had never planned to ever get near that box again, much less open it.

*****

They reached the classroom and entered the theater. The substitute teacher was sitting quietly in a chair off to the side while the students sat in small groups on the stage reading the _Hairspray_ script and chatting.  When the door opened, all heads turned to the back of the theater and some of the students shouted out, “Frankie!!!” They stood up and cheered and jumped up and down. Clearly having Frankie Grande as their teacher and show director was a big deal. Frankie immediately shook off all of his angst about the confrontation with Zach and turned on his Frankie Grande charm just like that.

“Hey guys!!! I’m Frankie Grande and I’m so happy to be here! This is Bradley Michelson and he will be co-directing the show with me. He’s a dancer and will be teaching you a lot of the choreography. Who’s excited to get this show going??!!”

As always, Frankie had the group in the palm of his hands within moments. They spent the rest of the period with introductions followed by some general discussion about the show and the auditions that would be taking place the following week. Before long the bell rang and the day had concluded.

The drive back to Frankie’s Boca home was quiet. Frankie didn’t want to bring up the whole Zach incident but it definitely felt like the elephant in the room. Or in the car rather. When they walked in the front door. Bradley announced he was going to take a shower and get his things unpacked.

“Okay, sweetheart, I’ll start getting dinner ready. Come down when you’re done and we’ll have a glass of wine. Or maybe something stronger. I think we both could use it.”

Bradley smirked at him and headed upstairs. Frankie went into the kitchen and began preparing dinner.  He poured marinade onto the chicken breasts that they would later grill on the barbeque. He put together a green salad and wrapped some French rolls in tinfoil so they too could be heated on the grill.

Finally he went over to the bar and made himself a vodka martini. He didn’t drink too often and when he did it was usually wine. But tonight a strong cocktail was definitely in order.  He plopped himself into the comfortable armchair that Grandpa Frank used to always sit in.  It was Frankie’s favorite piece of furniture in the house. He swore he could still smell Grandpa’s distinct cologne emanating from the seams and cracks in the old soft leather.

As he sipped the martini, Frankie’s thoughts wandered back to the last time he had seen Zach.  The night of the BB17 finale had been confusing to say the least. Frankie decided to get a hotel room so he wouldn’t have to drive back to his LA house that night. As he prepared to join his cast mates in the hotel bar, he reminded himself that he and Zach had promised no more casual hook ups. No friends with benefits. They were just platonic friends, it was better that way. Frankie walked into the bar and saw he was one of the first to arrive. He sat with Cody and Derrick and they each had two cocktails in them before even half the cast had arrived.

Zach was the last one to make his way downstairs from his hotel room. Of course. He sauntered over to the group and gave hugs all around. Frankie couldn’t help but notice how hot he looked in his dark jeans and pale green button down shirt. He had a deep tan from his summer in Florida and body was on fleek due to his rigorous work out routine. Frankie could feel the strength in his arms and the tautness of his abs during their brief but tight hug.

Zach took an open seat by Hayden and Nicole and was soon deeply engrossed in conversation with them, downing beers as quickly as he could to try to catch up to the group. Frankie kept sneaking looks over toward them, but Zach didn’t seem to be paying any attention to him. That’s when he started getting handsy with Cody. Cody was a good friend. And just a friend. But he was used to Frankie being physically affectionate. He had done it all summer in the Big Brother house and continued to do so afterwards. Cody wasn’t an idiot despite the opinion of his Twitter haters. He knew that Frankie often used him as a bit of a pawn when it came to Zach but he did his best to stay out of the drama between those two.

When it became apparent that Zach had noticed and was bothered by the Frody affection, Frankie watched as he quietly walked off to the bathroom. Despite the fact that he should’ve known better, Frankie followed him. And with both of them drunk and horny, it really wasn’t a surprise that they ended up in Zach’s room just a short time later.

As always, despite their inability to maintain a healthy, normal relationship, their physical chemistry was off the charts. The sex had been as mind blowing as ever. When Frankie tried to talk to Zach afterwards, Zach had interrupted him, saying it happened and they just needed to accept it and not make a big deal about it. He basically implied that it meant nothing.

When they lay down in the bed to go to sleep, Frankie felt like he was wide awake.  Zach, however, was spent and was out within moments, but not before mumbling, “I love you Frankie,” probably with no conscious realization he was saying it. A few minutes later when Zach was fully asleep, Frankie had whispered back, “I love you too Zach.”

Frankie managed to fall asleep for a few hours, but woke up suddenly at about 3:00 am.  They hadn’t closed the shades and some of the city lights from outside cast a soft glow in the room. Frankie took advantage of his deep sleep to stare at Zach, memorizing each detail knowing that he wouldn’t likely see him again for a very long time, if ever.

Zach’s face when he slept was soft, peaceful and trouble free.  His lips were slightly parted and his face muscles relaxed.  The worry lines that often appeared on his forehead when he was ranting or complaining weren’t at all visible.  He wild hair was a tangled mess. One long curl was hanging down over his forehead, covering his right eye.  Frankie reached over gently and moved the curl back over his head, taking time to gently run his fingers through Zach’s hair.

Zach was sleeping on his back.  The sheet was only pulled up to his hips. Frankie again admired Zach’s gorgeous body - his strong arms and perfect chest and abs. Frankie reached over tentatively and ran his hand over Zach’s bicep, then slid his fingers down his abs. When Zach started to stir, Frankie pulled his hand back not wanting to wake him up. Zach turned toward Frankie and threw his arm over his chest pulling him close. Frankie relaxed into the warmth of Zach’s body.

After trying for another 30 minutes to fall back asleep, Frankie decided he would just go back to his own room. He was flying out the next day and needed to make sure he was packed and ready to go. And he knew it would be much easier, albeit a little heartbreaking, to leave without a saying goodbye to Zach – which would be either big and emotional or awkward and awful.

Frankie carefully rolled out of Zach’s arms, then silently got dressed. He closed the shades so that the morning sun wouldn’t wake Zach up. He used the flashlight on his phone to find some stationary and a pen on the desk.  He pondered what to write. There was so much he wanted to say. That he loved Zach more than he’d ever loved anyone. That he would always regret they couldn’t make it work. They he wanted for Zach more than anything to be honest with himself and to never be ashamed of who he was or whom he loved. That he believed in Zach more than Zach believed in himself and knew there was greatness there if he could overcome his own demons. That he would never regret anything that happened between them.

But he knew he couldn’t write all of that because it would only open old wounds and put them right back into the cycle that they’d just recently ended. They just needed a clean break. So as he fought back tears, he simply wrote that he wished him luck and that he would be in his heart forever.

Leaving the note in the center of the desk, Frankie walked back to the bed and took one last look at Zach. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Zach’s forehead. As he did so a single tear fell from his eye and was absorbed within the tangle of Zach’s hair. Frankie smiled at this since Zach likely wouldn’t be shampooing his hair for days (as was his habit) and therefore would still have a bit of Frankie with him.

*****

Frankie’s memory was interrupted as Bradley came down the steps

“Hi love; feel better? How about a martini?”

“Yeah the shower was great. I also got my suitcase unpacked and the room is more organized. I’ll just have a glass of white wine, thanks.”

As Frankie stood at the bar pouring Bradley’s wine, he casually said, “So … are you really okay about Zach being a teacher at Pine Crest? I know it’s kind of awkward and I feel really badly about it. For your sake.”

“Oh Frankie, please,” Bradley replied dismissively, “It’s fine. Zach was in your past. We’ve been together longer than you guys dated – or fucked, or whatever it was you two did. I know he was a total hot mess and you were lucky to get out of that relationship before he really brought you down.”

Frankie had to bite his tongue not to react to Bradley writing Zach off as a complete loser. Deep breath, he thought to himself. The last thing he needed right now was an argument. Bradley liked to come across as this cocky sure-of-himself guy but Frankie knew that he was actually pretty insecure and all this bluster was his way of reassuring himself. Still, hearing Zach described that way made Frankie cringe.

“Oh, he’s not a fuck up, honey. Yeah he did have some struggles during that first year after the show, but you know, he pulled it together. I’m happy he finally figured out what he wanted to do with his life. I actually think he’ll be a great teacher. He’s smart as fuck in math and he’ll be the perfect combination of strict and fun. And then golf –oh my God don’t get me started; he loves golf more than most anything. Except maybe his dog Tig-“

“Frankie! Enough about Zach, wow! It’s a good thing I’m secure in our relationship, because you don’t seem to be able to shut up about the guy. Can we just make dinner and have a nice evening with no more Zach Rance talk?”

“Of course, sorry babe. How about you go start the barbeque and I’ll set the table.”

Frankie was more than a little annoyed at this point. He could understand why Bradley didn’t want to talk about Zach but it bothered Frankie that he seemed to think Zach was so worthless. Had he really given Bradley that impression over the years or was he reading too much of the old Zach hate on social media? Either way. Frankie thought Bradley was being a total asshole.

After dinner, they watched TV for awhile, then Bradley said that he was tired. Frankie said he wanted to finish up the dishes and straighten up a little so he’d be up shortly. Frankie must’ve been doing some Oscar worthy acting because Bradley didn’t seem to pick up at all on the fact that Frankie was majorly pissed off. He gave Frankie a quick kiss then a pat on the ass and headed up to their bedroom.

Frankie finished up with the dishes pretty quickly but didn’t really want to go upstairs until he was sure that Bradley was asleep. He was afraid he’d say something he would regret.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how awkward it was when Zach stormed out of the restroom earlier that day. Frankie knew he had been a complete jerk and he regretted his behavior.  He sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out his phone. He went to his contacts and pulled up Zach’s name, wondering if he still had the same phone number. Frankie thought about texting him, decided it wouldn’t be a good idea… then thought again and decided to chance it.

Frankie

_Hey Zach – it’s Frankie. Is this still your number?_

There was no response for several minutes. Just as Frankie was about to give up and head upstairs, his phone buzzed.

Zach

_Yeah, still me. What’s up Frankie?_

Frankie

_Hey glad I still have the right number! I was just thinking about what happened today and I wanted to apologize. You’re right I was being a total bitch. And I’m sorry._

Zach

_No worries._

Frankie

_I was just so surprised to see you. And I reacted badly because, you know, I knew it would be weird with Bradley. And I just couldn’t believe it tbh._

Zach

_Yeah well, like I said, no worries._

Frankie noticed that Zach’s responses were pretty short and curt. It was hard to decipher tone in texts but he had a feeling that Zach wasn’t all that happy to be communicating with him. So he figured he would let Zach talk about Zach. That usually worked.

Frankie

_So how did your first day go? What do you think of Pine Crest?_

Zach

_Well, I know what Pine Crest kids are like, so…”_ *winky face emoji*

Frankie

_Lmao. Well yeah, maybe you can understand why I was so surprised to see you today!_

Zach

_Of course I understand. I felt the same way about seeing you._

Frankie

_So how were the students? Are your classes good? What about the golf team?_

That seemed to do the trick. Zach started texting about his classes and how well the students responded to him. He seemed so excited about his new profession and Frankie couldn’t help but be thrilled for him. He talked a little about the golf team too. 

Frankie

_Well, I have to say that judging by your enthusiasm, I think Tom made a great choice to hire you at Pine Crest. I’m sure you’re gonna be an amazing teacher and coach._

Zach

_Thanks bro. Yeah I think so too. How about you? How did the theater class go? What does Bobby think about Pine Crest?_

Frankie

_He thinks it’s great. We have a good group of students and it’s gonna be a blast to produce the show. And – his name is Bradley. But I think you know that._ *winky face emoji*

Zach

_OH – Bradley. Yeah right. Oops my bad…_

Frankie smirked. He knew Zach was fucking with him. He knew it should annoy him but he actually thought it was pretty damn funny.

Frankie

_Okay well nice chatting with you. I’m glad we cleared things up and hopefully it won’t be too awkward._

Zach

_Agreed. Good night Frankie._

Frankie put his phone in his pocket and straightened up a few things in the family room, then went to check and makes sure all the doors were locked. Just as he was about to go upstairs, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw another text from Zach.

Zach

_Hey – I was just thinking… maybe sometime we could go on a double date – see each other socially outside of school. It might make it less awkward and Bobby-Bradley and I could get to know each other in a social setting. What do you think?_

Frankie

_Um … sure? I mean, maybe. I’ll need to run it by Bradley (yes his name is BRADLEY lol), but yeah that could be fun. Are you seeing someone?_

Zach

_I’m seeing several someones actually._

Frankie

_Oh yeah? Do you mind if I ask – male or female?_

Zach

_Both_

Frankie

_Oh… interesting strategy Zach._

Frankie smiled. The “interesting strategy” meme from BB16 had been used hundreds of times when Zach did or said things on social media that were basically fucked up or confusing. He figured Zach would pick up on it. Which he did.

Zach

_Ha - nicely played Frankie. Good night, see you tomorrow if our paths cross._

Frankie

_Good night Zach._

Frankie scrolled back up and re-read their conversation. He was glad he had texted Zach. He knew he owed him an apology for his behavior earlier, and he felt like their conversation helped break the ice so that maybe they could at least be civil.

Bisexual? That was unexpected. Frankie thought that Zach would either been full no homo dating girls or maybe just not dating much at all. He wondered if Zach would bring a man or a woman on their double date. This could be interesting. Now he just had to figure out how to sell the idea to Bradley.

He deleted the text conversation from his phone and headed upstairs where he washed up and quietly crawled into bed with Bradley who thankfully was already sleeping soundly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter... the double date. 
> 
> I hope you're still enjoying the story - feedback and comments always welcome!!


	4. Table for 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I turn my chin music up  
> And I'm puffing my chest  
> I'm getting red in the face  
> You can call me obsessed  
> It's not your fault that they hover  
> I mean no disrespect  
> It's my right to be hellish  
> I still get jealous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update. I've had a major writer's block but hopefully the next chapter won't take so long.

The rest of the first week of school had gone well. Frankie was enjoying being back on the Pine Crest campus and the musical theater class was filled with precocious, energetic students, some of whom actually had a lot of talent.  They had spent the remaining days of the week getting to know each other, reading through the script and beginning to learn some of the bigger numbers that would involve an ensemble chorus. Auditions were set for the following week, and Frankie already had a pretty good idea of which students would be up for the major roles such as Tracy & Edna Turnblad, Link Larson and Penny Pingleton.

Bradley was adjusting to his role as a dance teacher and co-director (really more like assistant director, if Frankie were being honest). While Bradley certainly had experience teaching both fitness and dance, he had only taught classes with adults. So working with children was a new thing for him. He was tense and not as patient as Frankie. Frankie could already sense that some of the students were side-eying him, not sure why he snapped at them, often with little provocation. Frankie tried to over-compensate by turning on the charm and buttering Bradley up as much as possible.

By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, Bradley was ready for the weekend. Frankie wanted to get his mind off of the show and the stress he was feeling, so he took him to Bacio, an old Italian restaurant in Boca which Frankie had always loved. After a couple of glasses of Chianti, Frankie sensed that Bradley was finally relaxing. Frankie made it a point not to talk about the show or auditions even though he was dying to share some of the ideas he had. He knew that Bradley couldn’t handle that right then.

Frankie was also thinking about the text he’d received that afternoon from Zach. He hadn’t seen Zach at all at school the remaining two days of the week. Bradley was right – they were on opposite sides of the campus so it wasn’t surprising that their paths didn’t cross. As Frankie had gone upstairs to change clothes after school, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

Zach

_Hey Frankie. Sorry we didn’t run into each other on campus. Just wondering - did you get a chance to talk to Benji about a double date?_

Frankie

_Benji. Funny Zach. No, I haven’t had a chance to talk to Bradley. It’s been so crazy getting settled in at home and also pulling this show together._

Zach

_Yeah I get it. Well, I just wanted to see if Sunday night might work for you. I have a date with a woman I’ve been seeing, Tess. She’s super cool and easy going. I mentioned the idea to her and she was totally open to it. What do you think?_

Frankie

_Well it sounds good to me. But let me talk to Bradley. This whole teaching thing is an adjustment for him and I think he is happy to be vegging for a couple days. But, hey, we have to eat so maybe Sunday night dinner would be good. I’ll get back to you tomorrow._

Zach

_Great. Look forward to hearing from you. Say hi to Brian. ;)_

Frankie smirked as he put his phone back in his pocket. Typical Zach to run a joke into the ground. Knowing Zach, he had compiled a list of male names starting with B on one of those yellow notepads that he was always carrying around.

He also felt strangely relieved that Zach was suggesting a double date that involved him bringing a woman. Which was ridiculous. Why should Frankie care which gender Zach dated? He understood bisexuality and had many friends who identified as such. It might be Tess this week and Tim the next time they got together. (Yeah, Frankie could play this alliteration name game just as well as Zach!)

As they waited for their main courses, he could sense that Bradley was feeling much more relaxed.  He was laughing and reaching out to hold Frankie’s hand while playing footsie with him underneath the table. Frankie thought maybe this would be as good a time as any to ask about the double date.

“Well love, you seem to be feeling better. Did they Chianti do the trick?”

“Yeah I guess so,” Bradley replied, “I had no idea kids working with kids would be so exhausting. Best part about being gay is there’s not going to be any pressure to reproduce, am I right?”

Frankie was stunned for a moment. They had never discussed children. Hell, they had hardly discussed marriage. But Frankie knew that he wanted children someday so this revelation that Bradley did not was something new. However, Frankie decided this probably wasn’t the time nor the place for this discussion. So he ignored Bradley’s question and changed the subject.

“So I have something to ask you. I ran into Zach in the office the other day and he asked if you and I might like to go out on a double date with him and someone he’s seeing.”

Frankie made up the story about running into Zach in the office, not wanting to reveal that he and Zach had been texting.

Bradley looked at Frankie with a furrowed brow, “You’re not serious are you?”

“Well, um… yeah,” Frankie sputtered, “I mean Zach suggested it and it could be fun. He really wanted to do it for your sake. He feels like we all got off on the wrong foot and thought it would be nice to get to know each other in a social setting away from school.”

“I don’t know Frankie; that’s kind of weird. Who does Zach date anyway? I know you were fucking him for awhile but didn’t you tell me he insisted he was straight?”

“He’s dating a woman named Tess. That’s who he plans to bring to dinner.” 

Frankie left it at that, deciding that telling Bradley that Zach was bisexual probably wasn’t the best idea at that moment. 

“So I guess he was just queer baiting you then, huh? Just like some in your Grandtourage insisted. What a jerk.”

“Bradley, I don’t want to get into it. Suffice it to say that I never felt used or baited at all. It was complicated but it ended years ago. You and I have been together for two years and Zach is doing his thing, which apparently includes a woman named Tess. So what do you say? A casual dinner on Sunday night? Zach is actually a nice guy and I think you’ll like him. And it could really help to make things less awkward at school. 

“Fine,” Bradley relented, “Go ahead and set it up. But don’t complain when I force you on a double date with my ex, the high school football quarterback next time we visit my parents. Talk about scandalous!”

Frankie laughed, “You’re the best babe. I’ll text Zach tomorrow and figure out the details.”

“Text? You two are texting buddies?” Bradley asked suspiciously.

“No love. We exchanged numbers so that I would have a way to contact him to confirm the plans. Relax!”

Again Frankie guiltily realized he was making up little white lies to appease Bradley and not raise any red flags. What was going on with him?

Frankie changed the subject, asking Bradley what he wanted to do the next day. The rest of their dinner went smoothly as they enjoyed a hearty meal and plenty of Chianti. 

*****

Later that evening after some Friday night delight in bed, Bradley passed out cold from both the wine and general exhaustion. Frankie crept quietly out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top. He went downstairs to get a glass of water.

It was 11:15 but he decided to chance it and text Zach. 

Frankie

_Hey - are you up still?_

A moment later his phone buzzed.

Zach

_Yeah. Just climbed into bed with my hot date Tiger but I’m still awake. Watching ESPN._

Frankie

_Well I have no idea what that is but hey – good on ya!_

Zach

_Ha, even you aren’t THAT unaware about professional sports. What’s up? How was your night?_

Frankie

_It was nice. We went out for Italian food and some Chianti. Bradley was a little frazzled after two days working with pre-teens and needed to unwind._

Zach

_Well that sounds good. Did you have a chance to ask him about Sunday night?_

Frankie

_Yeah. I think we’re good. He was a little unsure at first but I assured him that you aren’t a monster and he would actually enjoy being with you._

 Zach

_Gee thanks for the great endorsement. I’m sure Bruce will love me now._

Frankie

 _Are you running out of B names yet?_

Zach

 _Not even close._ * smiley emoji *

Frankie

_Great…_

Zach

_I aim to please._

Frankie

_So I told Bradley you were bringing a woman named Tess. He was curious if you date men or women since he knows a bit about our past. I decided it would be better to just say you were seeing a woman and leave it at that. Hope that’s okay._

Zach

_Well… tbh it bothers me a little bit. I mean it took me a few years to finally understand and more importantly acknowledge that I’m bisexual. So I have no desire to go back into any closet._

Frankie

_I know that. Which is why I didn’t say “Zach’s straight.” I just said you were dating a woman. I don’t want Bradley to feel threatened by you or anything._

Zach

_Well should he be?_

Frankie paused. Wow, that was a loaded question. And Frankie had walked right into it. He thought carefully about his reply.

Frankie

_No of course not. Sure, we had a thing but it is far in the past and we’ve both moved on. It’s just a crazy coincidence that our paths crossed again. We had a great friendship, Zach. And I’m happy to be able to renew that._

Zach

_Okay got it. It’ll be nice to catch up. So where and when should we meet?_

They discussed a few options, then settled on a sushi restaurant that Zach recommended.

Frankie

_Okay then we’ll see you there at 6:30 Sunday. I’m looking forward to meeting Teri._

Zach

_Funny. See you Sunday Frankie._

*****

“Tess, hurry up, we’re gonna be late,” Zach called out from the living room.

Tess was still in her bedroom getting ready and Zach had been ready to leave for ten minutes. He could never understand what took her so long. Yeah, sure she was a smoke bomb. She had soft wavy blonde hair and big green eyes, plus an amazing figure. They had met on tinder, and for once he found someone that he was happy to take out more than once. They had been dating for about six weeks. It was casual and they both dated other people as well. Tess had no problem with Zach being bisexual and admitted that she had her experimental phase with other women but had ultimately realized she identified as straight.

Tess knew about Zach’s stint on Big Brother. She had never watched the show, but when they started dating he told her about it.  They had been discussing sexuality and when it was that he realized that he was bisexual. Inevitably, the infamous showmance with Frankie came up and Zach gave her a brief overview about what they had gone through. After finding out that Frankie was teaching at Pine Crest with Zach, Tess was eager to be his plus one at the big double date. Not only did she think that it would be an interesting evening but she was a little star struck at the idea of dining with Ariana Grande’s brother who was a celebrity in his own right.

They pulled into the parking lot of Sushi Wasabi at about 6:25.  Zach was happy to see that they had arrived first. He and Tess got a nice table in a quiet corner of the restaurant. Tess ordered a glass of Chardonnay and Zach ordered a beer. No sooner had their waitress walked away that Zach saw Frankie and Bradley walking in. He waved them over to the table.

Once introductions were made they all sat down. Zach waved the waitress over so that Frankie and Bradley could order their drinks.  Zach had been concerned that the conversation would be stilted and awkward but thanks to Frankie’s amazing social skills, everyone was comfortable within minutes. 

Frankie asked Tess, “So how did you and Zach meet?

“Well it sounds totally cliché, but we met on tinder.”

“Oh tinder!” Frankie exclaimed, “I remember Zach talking about how he liked tinder when we were in the Big Brother house.”

He glanced across the table at Zach who looked petrified that Frankie was going to reveal how Zach said he basically only used tinder to hook up.  Frankie gave him a subtle wink as Zach gave him a warning look, then turned to Bradley who was sitting to his right.

“So how about you guys? How did you meet Frankie? How long have you two been dating?”

“Frankie came to one of my Zumba classes at the gym where I teach. He stood in the front row and was such a good student, I just had to ask him out. That was almost two years ago and we’ve been together ever since." 

“So you’re a fitness trainer?” Zach asked.

“Yes that, and a dancer.”

“Well it sounds like you two have a lot in common. That’s great,” Zach replied.

The waitress came to take their order. They ordered edemame and then selected a variety of rolls and sashimi for the table.  They also ordered a second round of drinks. Everyone was feeling more comfortable and Frankie had them all in fits of laughter telling stories of his exploits.

Tess seemed particularly interested in Frankie and asked all sorts of questions about his television and entertainment experiences as well as about Ariana. Frankie loved talking about himself and was immediately charmed. He had initially felt a bit jealous seeing Zach with a date but had to admit Tess was great.

“I love the sparkle of glitter next to your eye! That’s so cool. How do you get it to stick?”

“Glitter!! I love glitter. Oh Tess, honey if you want glitter guidance you’ve come to the right person.  In fact I have some in my bag. Let me put it on you!!”

“Well that’s kind of awkward at the table,” Tess said uncertainly. 

“You two are nuts,” Zach said. “Go to the restroom. There are a couple individual ones and they’re both unisex.”

“Well let’s go doll face,” Frankie exclaimed,

Zach just shook his head.

After they scampered off to the restroom, Bradley turned toward Zach.

“So Ranceypants, I have a question for you,” he smirked.

“Sure Bri… er I mean Bradley. What is it?”

“Well you must realize that I know all about your relationship with Frankie during Big Brother and afterwards. Sounds like it was pretty intense. So how is it that you’re straight?”

Zach paused, trying to figure out how to answer this without making it look like Frankie had misled Bradley about his sexuality.

“I’m not really into labels dude. I’m dating Tess. She’s a smoke bomb don’t you think? We’re having a good time. Frankie and I did go through a … thing. But that was years ago and as you know, we both moved on.”

“No labels, huh? Bradley inquired. “Does that mean you still fuck dudes too?” 

“Are we really having this conversation, Brad? Maybe you should push that cocktail away.”

“You DO still like men don’t you?” Bradley asked.

“Like I said no labels,” Zach replied, giving Bradley an angry look. There was something predatory and creepy about this guy and he made Zach really uncomfortable.

Thankfully at that moment Frankie and Tess returned to the table.

“Look babe,” Tess exclaimed, turning toward Zach, “Isn’t this glitter the best?”

Zach leaned toward her and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

"Looks hot, babe."

Frankie looked down toward his lap as Zach kissed Tess, feeling a bit jealous even though he knew he shouldn't. He shook it off then took over the conversation again, telling some hilarious stories about him and Zach in the Big Brother house. The food arrived and they all dug in. Everyone was relaxed and enjoying themselves.

As they were drinking tea after dinner, Zach was laughing at Frankie’s Rhinestone Silversmith routine when he suddenly he felt a hand creeping up his right thigh. He almost jumped out of his seat, quickly pulling his leg away and subtly pushing Bradley’s hand off his leg.  He glanced over to his right but Bradley was completely focused on Frankie, chuckling at his story. A few minutes later, again Bradley’s hand crept up Zach’s leg. Zach coughed and quickly stood up.

“Excuse me, I’m gonna go use the restroom.” 

Bradley stood up a moment later.

“I guess I might as well do the same before we hit the road. Be right back babe,” he said to Frankie, leaning down and kissing him on the lips.

As they rounded the corner, Zach turned around and got in Bradley’s face.

“What the FUCK are you doing asshole? You have to be kidding me!”

“You’re not fooling me Zach. I know you’re not straight. I half expected you to pull my hand right over your dick. Thought we might have some fun under the table. I may be in a relationship but I’m not blind; you’re hot and I know you want it. “

“What the…? You’ve got to be kidding me. What would Frankie think if I told him? You’re a fucking creep!”

“Frankie wouldn’t believe you. We’re in love. We’ve even talked about marriage. I know you probably still have a thing for him, but you can forget it. He told me that after you two finally broke up, he vowed he would never date a closeted or confused man again. You did a number on him and broke his heart. I was the one who stepped in and repaired it. I’M his destiny. You’re not. So don’t get any ideas, Zach. We’ll be out of here in a few months and we’ll never see you again. So stop trying to be friends and just keep your distance.”

“You’re disgusting.” Zach replied quietly. “Frankie deserves way better than you. Hopefully he will realize that. I’ve moved on; I’m not looking to get back together with Frankie so stop being so paranoid. I don’t know why you feel so threatened by me, but I would guess that you’re not nearly as confident about this great love story you’ve described as you’d like me to believe. Regardless, just keep your fucking hands off of me or next time I’ll break your nose.”

Zach turned away and walked into the restroom, locking the door behind him. He leaned against the sink, taking a deep breath. He was so angry and freaked out that he was literally shaking.

Who did this asshole think he was? Should he tell Frankie what happened? He felt like Frankie should know but he didn’t know how he would take it, coming from Zach. At that point, he just wanted to get out of the restaurant with Tess and forget the whole evening.

When he walked back to the table he saw Frankie signing his credit card receipt.

“Frankie what are you doing? We were supposed to split the bill!” Zach complained.

“Nah my treat Zach. You can get the next one. This was fun. I hope we can do it again sometime.”

“Um, yeah… sure,” Zach replied tentatively, “You know when we can find the time. I know you guys are busy pulling together the musical and I sure have my hands full with full time teaching plus the golf team. But, yeah hopefully soon.” 

“Anyway,” Zach continued as he stood up, “Time for us to head out. I need to get Tess home and I’m planning to get up early to go to the gym tomorrow.“

They all stood up and headed to the door. As they got to the parking lot, Zach formally shook Bradley’s hand then went to do the same with Frankie,

“Don’t be silly Zach,” Frankie said, “We don’t do handshakes, we do hugs.”

He wrapped his arms around Zach’s waist and pulled him close for a quick hug. Zach felt like sparks were shooting from his body as he relished the momentary hug, soaking in the scent of Frankie that he had never forgotten. Frankie pulled away somewhat reluctantly then gave Tess a hug as well.

Zach dropped Tess off at her apartment. She babbled the whole drive home about how much fun she had and how amazing Frankie was. She didn’t have to convince Zach; he had believed that from the first moment he met him. Tess invited Zach to come upstairs to her apartment but he begged off, saying that he was pretty exhausted and really did plan to get up early in the morning to go to the gym before school.

When Zach got home, he took Tiger out for a few minutes, then went straight into his room and got ready for bed.  After his normal marathon teeth brushing routine, he climbed into bed, plugging his phone in and turning over to go to sleep. No sooner had he done so, his phone buzzed.

Frankie

_Well that was fun! I enjoyed meeting Tess. She’s a sweetheart.”_

Zach

_Yeah I enjoy spending time with her. Nice girl._

Frankie

_Are you still with her now or…?_

Zach

_No I dropped her off at home. I have an early day tomorrow – want to work out before school starts._

Frankie

_Well that makes sense. So what did you think of Bradley now that you’ve spent some time with him outside of the faculty restroom?_

Zach paused, not sure how to answer this question.

Zach

_Seems nice enough._

Frankie

_Nice enough? Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Was there a problem?_

Zach

_No not really. The guy’s just really not my cup of tea if you know what I mean._

Frankie

_No. I don’t know what you mean. Wtf makes you say that? From what I could see, Bradley was totally charming tonight and very open and friendly with you. I thought it was big of him to agree to go at all. Give my man some credit._

Zach

_Yeah from what you could see…”_

Frankie

_What the fuck does that even mean?_

Zach

_Nothing_

Frankie

_It’s not nothing. Something happened to upset you. Just tell me what it is._

Zach was getting totally annoyed with this conversation. He didn’t want to have to hide from who he was to anybody including Frankie’s boyfriend and he certainly didn’t like Frankie getting all snippy at him when he had no idea what had happened.

Zach

_He hit on me okay? Your little Bradley Bitch tried to grab my dick._

Frankie

_Omg! You have to be kidding me Zach. You expect me to believe that? Geez how low will you stoop to try to break us up? I could see how jealous you were the minute we walked in the restaurant. But this… this is really pathetic._

Zach

_I’m not kidding, Frankie. Why would I make that up? That pervert tried to grab my dick under the table then told me when we talked by the restroom that you would never believe me if I told you. I guess he was right about that. Good night Frankie._

Frankie

_I don’t believe you. Anyone who knows you knows that you’re a chronic liar, but this is so repulsive. Get over it Zach. We’re done. I’m dating Bradley now and you just have to deal with it. Good night._

Zach didn’t even bother replying. Of course Frankie would accuse him of lying. Well, whatever. Frankie and Bradley could have each other. From what Zach could see, they were perfect for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Comments welcome!!


	5. Oh What A Tangled Web We Weave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If your lips are moving, if your lips are moving  
> If your lips are moving, then you're lyin', lyin', lyin', babe  
> If your lips are moving, if your lips are moving  
> If your lips are moving then you're lyin', lyin', lyin', babe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! I will try to be quicker with the next one.

Frankie sat at the table downstairs fuming. He thought they’d had such an amazing night with Zach and Tess, and then Zach throws this bullshit story at him about Bradley. Tried to grab his dick under the table? Seriously? Bradley had far too much class to do something like that and he was very secure in their relationship. What would be the point of such a blatant gesture? Zach must be up to his old tricks of just fucking with people’s lives for his own kicks or something.

Then again, why would Zach make up something so ridiculous? Frankie did have a smidgen of concern that Zach’s story might have some truth to it but he buried it down underneath the immense indignation he felt. Bradley. . . Bradley always made him feel better. He loved Frankie for who he was, not for whom his sister was or his money or anything like that. And he was a proud gay man who had never made Frankie feel _lesser than_ in any way.

Sure, now Zach identified as a bisexual, but during their turbulent affair after Big Brother ended, Zach was paranoid about identifying publicly as anything other than straight. Even though it was plainly obvious to anyone paying attention that his feelings for Frankie went way past platonic and even though they had tens of thousands of fans who would’ve cheered for Zankie to be real, Zach just wasn’t ready to face that. Frankie understood. It had taken him six years to come out. It was a difficult process for anyone but to do so under public scrutiny with this newfound celebrity was asking a lot. It had just been too hard for Frankie to wait around.

Just as Frankie started to make his way upstairs to Bradley, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to see who was calling and grinned widely when he saw Ariana’s face. 

“Ari! I miss you so much,” Frankie exclaimed, as he turned around and walked back into the family room, settling into a big comfy armchair. “How are you? How’s LA? I feel like I haven’t seen you in months!”

Ari laughed, “It’s only been a couple weeks. I’m fine. Working my ass off.  How are YOU? How’s Pine Crest and _Hairspray_?!”

Frankie sighed, “Oh Ari, I have so much to tell you. You won’t even believe it.”

“What – did you already get sent to the Principal’s Office or something?”

“Oh don’t even get me started on Tom.”

“What do you mean?” Ari asked, “I thought we liked Tom.”

“Yeah yeah, we like Tom. But you’ll understand in a minute why I was less than thrilled with him. On our first day at school, guess who I ran into in the faculty bathroom? 

“Ummmm,” Ari contemplated. “I don’t know - Seth Jacobs? That kid always bullied you.  I could see him being hired as a history teacher or something.” 

“No not, Seth. Keep going. You’re not even close.”

“Oh I know! Elise Simmons! You broke her heart when you dumped her after kissing her and going to second base.”

Frankie laughed, “No not Elise. I’m just going to tell you because we’ll be here all night if I let this continue.”

Frankie paused then said, “The person I ran into was none other than Zach Attack Rance.”

Ari was silent.

“Are you still there? Hello?” Frankie finally said.

“Um. Yeah I’m still here. I’m just speechless. What the fuck is Zach doing at Pine Crest? In the faculty bathroom?”

“Well that’s where Tom comes in,” Frankie replied dryly. “He has been following both Zach and me since Big Brother ended. When he saw that Zach got his teaching credential, he reached out and offered him a position teaching math and coaching the golf team. Which is great for Zach of course. But it would’ve been nice if Tom had given both of us a fucking heads up before our awkward encounter.”

“Wow,” Ari said. “I’m kind of speechless. How is he? How did it go between you?”

Ari’s genuine interest in Zach’s wellbeing as well as the softness in her voice was a reminder to Frankie how fond his sister was of Zach. While this used to be endearing to Frankie, at this moment he found it a tad annoying.

“He’s fine,” Frankie answered curtly. “He is now proudly bisexual, believe it or not. Finally found his way out of the closet I guess. He was as perturbed as I was that Tom didn’t let us know ahead of time. But after the initial awkward reunion, which by the way included both Tom and Bradley walking into the bathroom, I have to admit Zach made a genuine effort to lessen the awkwardness.”

“Really?” Ari said quizzically. “What did he do?”

“Well he suggested we go out on a double date. Which we did tonight. He brought a girl, Tess, who he’s dating. We had sushi. It didn’t end well.”

“What happened? Bad edemame? Someone choked on a shrimp?”

“Ha, I wish. Everything seemed fine, actually. But I texted Zach tonight just to say that I thought it went well. And you’re not gonna believe what he said." 

Ari didn’t say anything.

“Well are you gonna ask?”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me. I have a feeling tho…”

“Have a feeling about what?” Frankie asked suspiciously.

“I’m gonna guess it has to do with Bradley.” Ari said softly.

“What makes you say that?” Frankie said accusingly.

“Frankie…”

It was an ongoing issue with them. Ari didn’t like Bradley. She tried, she really did. But as much as Frankie was sure that Bradley wasn’t using him for his wealth or family connections, he made Ari uneasy. There had been one too many times that she had caught him checking out some of her dancers. More than one of them had commented to her that Bradley made them uncomfortable with inappropriate looks or comments. Ari tried to talk to Frankie about it once, but he wouldn’t hear of it, assuring her that her dancers must be misinterpreting him. Frankie seemed to be happy with Bradley so Ari tried to keep her feelings to herself. Still, Frankie wasn’t blind. He knew his sister, and for that matter his mother, well enough to know that they tolerated Bradley for his sake but that they didn’t adore him the way that Frankie did.

“Yes, it’s about Bradley,” Frankie started defensively, “Zach told me that at one point Bradley was hitting on him, that he tried to grab Zach’s dick under the table. I mean c’mon! I know Bradley’s not perfect. But he wouldn’t do that. Zach clearly made that up. He’s jealous and trying to fuck up my relationship cuz he can’t stand to see me happy with someone else.”

Ari was silent.

“C’mon Ari. Say something!” Frankie pleaded.

“Frankie,” Ari replied,  “You know what I’m going to say. I tried to tell you before that Bradley has been less than appropriate with some of my friends and dancers. I’m not saying he’s been unfaithful to you or anything. But he doesn’t have a sense of boundaries and it would not surprise me at all if Zach’s story were true.”

“I honestly can’t believe he’d do that, I really can’t,” Frankie replied.

“Have you talked to Bradley about it yet? Maybe there’s an explanation,” Ari suggested doubtfully.

“No, I was literally on my way upstairs when you called.”

“Look Frankie. I’m just gonna lay it out. I think you are the most amazing man on earth.  You should be adored and you deserve the best. I know you love Bradley, but I’m just not sure that he loves you the way that Za… the way you should be loved. But if he’s the one you want to be with and want to work it out with, then I support you 100 percent. I just want to make sure that you are treated and worshipped the way you deserve to be.”

Frankie knew that Ari almost said that Bradley didn’t love him _the way that Zach did_. The Zankie fans used to call Ariana _Captain of the Ship_ ; little did they know how accurate they were. While Ari had been frustrated and pissed off at Zach many times, she also let it be known that she believed they were ultimately soul mates and belonged together. She would often say in frustration, “if the two of you would just get out of your own way, you’d be fine.” But when they ended things, Ari accepted it and supported Frankie in his efforts to move on.  However, knowing Ari who was a hopeless romantic, she probably had some farfetched notion that him running into Zach again by chance was some sort of fate.

“I hear you, Ari. I do love Bradley and I want to make it work. But you’re right. I can’t ignore what happened. I need to talk to him. There has to be some explanation, I just can’t believe it played out the way Zach says. And as for Zach, hopefully we can get past this and be cordial. I’m only going to be at Pine Crest for a few months, so we can both get on with our lives after that.”

Ari bit her tongue, not wanting to se say something that would further upset Frankie. She decided to change the subject.

“So tell me about _Hairspray_! What are the kids like? Have you had auditions yet?”

Frankie excitedly filled her in on all the plans for the musical production. They spent the next 10 minutes catching up on each other’s lives and making plans for when they would next see each other during Ari’s trip to Florida for the annual Grande Halloween party.

 

After the conversation ended, Frankie headed upstairs. He knew Bradley had likely fallen asleep but Frankie couldn’t wait till morning for this conversation. He would have to wake him.  Frankie stripped off his shirt and shorts and crawled into bed.  He snuggled up to Bradley and kissed him on the back of his neck, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close.

“Mmmm, hey babe,” Bradley said sleepily, turning onto his back and kissing Frankie softly.

Frankie laid his head on Bradley’s chest, keeping his arms wrapped around his waist. “Hi love – sorry it took me so long to get up here. Ari called. So… did you have a good time tonight?”

“Yeah, I guess it was all right,” Bradley answered. “I’m not saying I want to be best friends, but Zach’s an okay dude I suppose.”

“Well I appreciate you being willing to go. To be honest, I’m a little annoyed at Zach right now anyway so I don’t think you have to worry about this being a regular thing.”

Bradley sat up in the bed, forcing Frankie to raise his head and look at him. “What happened?  Why are you annoyed?”

“Well…” Frankie hesitated, “I sent him a text to say thanks and that we’d had a good time with him and Tess. And he had the nerve to say that you made a pass at him! Like tried to grab his dick or something. I mean that’s crazy right?”

Bradley hesitated long enough for Frankie to realize that whatever came out of his mouth next was going to be a lie.

“Wh… what? I’m… Wh,..  Th... That’s crazy! Wa… Why would I do that? What a prick.”

Frankie was silent.

Bradley jumped in again, “I mean wa… why would he say something like that? Is he…  Is… Is he trying to break us up? I knew he was a loser from the moment I met him.”

Frankie sat up straight, pulling away from Bradley.

“You’re lying, he said coldly, “Why did you do it Bradley?”

“What do you mean I’m lying?” Bradley asked incredulously.

“You always sputter and stutter when you’re not telling the truth. You tilt your head at a weird angle and look beyond me, not into my eyes. We’ve been together for two years, Bradley. I know how to read you. So tell me. Why the HELL did you try to grab Zach’s package under the table?”

Frankie’s voice was breaking. He was 50% heartbroken and 50% enraged.

Bradley took a big breath. “Look Frankie. I know this is going to sound bad. But you know I love you. I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship. This guy Zach - he’s not a good person, babe. He’s not bisexual. He’s gay. And he’s probably a man whore too. I bet anything he wants you back, wants to use the Grande name and money to better his life. I was testing him – I half thought that if I grabbed his dick, he’d find a way to try to get me into the bathroom and blow me right there. I wouldn’t have done it, of course, but I wanted to expose him. That’s why I did it, Frankie. You know I love you.”

“That is the BIGGEST LOAD OF CRAP I have ever heard,” Frankie yelled. “That doesn’t even make sense! Here’s what the truth probably is. You actually _were_ hitting on him and if he’d found a way to get you in the bathroom you would’ve gladly dropped your shorts for him. I’ve seen your wandering eye, Bradley, but I never thought you’d actually cheat. Not to mention with one of the most important men who ever came into my life! I honestly can’t believe this!”

“Frankie, no,” Bradley pleaded, “I never would’ve let him touch me. You have to believe that. I just didn’t like the guy, wanted to test his character. He was looking me up and down all night, I swear, I think he was actually interested…”

“Oh shut the fuck up, Bradley! You’re just digging yourself deeper.  I want you the hell out of my house! Now!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Frankie. It’s late on a Sunday night. Where am I supposed to go? We just need to sleep on this. We can work it out in the morning…”

“NO!!!” Frankie screamed. “There will be no working out of anything. I want you out of my house and out of Florida. Tonight you can sleep in the guest room. Book yourself a flight back to LA for tomorrow and a taxi or an uber to get you to the airport. I’m going out because if I stay in this house for one more minute I may kill you. By the time I get back, I want you out of this room and I don’t want to see your face again.”

“But Frankie, wait. I love you, please,” Bradley said, his voice breaking.

“You should’ve thought of that before you grabbed Zach’s cock, you slimy asshole. When I’m done, I’m done. Now get your stuff out of this room.”

With that, Frankie stood up, quickly put his clothes back on, then turned on his heels and walked out of the bedroom. He ran downstairs and grabbed his keys off the table, then walked out the door and got into his car.

 

Only when he was finally in the car alone did he let the tears fall, lowering his head to the steering wheel and sobbing. He really thought Bradley was the man for him. They had been so compatible early in their relationship; they had many similar interests and shared a passion for an active life. Yeah, Frankie knew Bradley had a wandering eye but he never worried about it too much. Frankie himself wasn’t above checking out a hot guy. But he was also fiercely faithful and would never cross that line. He realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach that the loyalty in their relationship was a one-way street.

He needed to get out of that house but now that he was in the car, he had no idea who to call. It was 10:20 on a Sunday night. He didn’t really have too many friends in Florida. He impulsively dialed Ari back. She picked up on the first ring. 

“Frankie? Are you okay? What happened?”

“You were right,” Frankie sobbed. “Zach was telling the truth. As soon as I asked Bradley about it, I could tell he was lying when he tried to deny it. I called him on it and he gave some bullshit excuse about trying to trap Zach into showing that he was a douche or something. I was furious. I told him we’re done and he needed to move into the guest room and book a flight out of Florida tomorrow. I left the house. I’m sitting in my car and I don’t what to do or where to go!”

“Oh Frankie, baby, I’m so sorry. I wish I could transport myself there to wrap you in a big hug. You’re gonna be okay though. I don’t know anyone stronger than you.” 

“I feel like such an idiot,” Frankie said, “The way I talked to Zach, telling him there was no way Bradley hit on him and getting all indignant. I should’ve known. It wouldn’t be like Zach to make up something that outrageous. I just didn’t want to believe it.”

“Go see him,” Ari urged. “Knock on his door and tell him you’re sorry. Zach loves you, he always will. Even if you two are no longer romantically involved, your friendship is worth saving. Tell him to his face that you were wrong and you’re sorry for ever questioning him.”

“I don’t even know where he lives, Ari. And I don’t know… that seems a little rash.”

“You know you want to see him Frankie,” Ari said, “You need to apologize to his face. Can’t you call Tom or something and get his address?”

“No I can’t call T- oh wait!” Frankie said. “He sent out a faculty directory and a lot of the teachers included their addresses. I think it’s in my email, hang on.”

Frankie quickly opened his email and scrolled through his inbox till he found the email from Tom. He opened the attachment and sure enough Zach had listed his address. 

“Okay I have the address, let me put it into my GPS,” Frankie said.

The route was calculated showing that Zach’s apartment was about 11 miles away.

“It’s gonna take me about 20 minutes to get there. It’ll be almost 11. Maybe I should just call.”

“NO!” Ari interrupted. “Just go, Frankie. He needs to see you in person. He may ignore a call or even a text. You know how stubborn Zach is. Just put your car in drive and GO.”

“Fine,” Frankie relented. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“I love you Frankie. Be patient with him. He’s gonna be angry.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow – love you more.”

Frankie hung up the phone and pulled out of the driveway.

 

Just under 20 minutes later, he was parked on the street outside Zach’s apartment building.  He steeled himself as he got out of the car, then found the apartment and knocked on the door. He didn’t hear anything at first, but then saw a light turn on in the back of the apartment.  He heard footsteps then Zach cautiously asking, “Who is it?”

“Zach, it’s me. I know it’s late, I’m sorry. But I need to talk to you,” Frankie pleaded.

“Frankie? What the fuck?! You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing here?” Zach was clearly annoyed.

“Zach just open the door. Please.”

Frankie waited. He didn’t hear anything. He stood there for over a minute and was almost ready to turn around and walk back to his car, but then he heard the lock turn.

Zach opened the door. He was standing there in a pair of shorts slung low around his waist and nothing else. Frankie swallowed and dragged his eyes up from Zach’s abs to his eyes.  Zach stepped aside and gestured for Frankie to come in.

“What is it Frankie? What are you doing here so late?”

Tiger ran up to Frankie, wagging his tail. Frankie gave him some affection before answering.

“I… well, I need to apologize,” Frankie explained. “After we texted, I went and talked to Bradley. He totally denied the whole ‘grabbing’ thing but I could tell he was lying. Then he tried to justify it. It was disgusting. I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you.” 

“You’re right. You shouldn’t have.” Zach was still pissed, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes cold. 

“Zach, look. I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I broke up with Bradley tonight. I told him to get a plane back to LA tomorrow. I’m done.”

Zach laughed bitterly. “Oh I get it now. You broke up with Bradley and stood up for my honor, so now you show up at my door and expect me to take you into my arms and kiss you and carry you to my bed. This isn’t a romance novel, Frankie.”

“What are you talking about Zach?  Don’t be ridiculous. I just wanted to apologize in person. To be honest, I had to get out of the house till Bradley gets settled in another room and I didn’t think you’d answer a text or even a phone call, so I found your address on the faculty list and here I am. I’m not looking to get back together or anything.”

“Well good, because that’s not happening,” Zach declared.

Frankie didn’t say anything. They stood staring at each other, the silence getting awkward.

Finally Zach exploded, “WHY DIDN’T YOU WAIT FOR ME FRANKIE?! You promised you’d give me all the time I needed!! The year after Big Brother was a nightmare. I had so much pressure from the fans, both the ones who loved us and the ones who hated you. And then my family not understanding and having a hard time accepting I wasn’t straight. And my friends who just didn’t get it at all. It was fucking scary. The only thing that kept me going was that I was completely in love with you and I thought you loved me. When you said you couldn’t wait anymore, you broke me. I TOLD you how scared I was to fall in love. But I couldn’t help it with you. And then – my worst nightmare, you left me and to be honest I’ve never recovered.”

“Well what about ME, Zach?” Frankie countered. “I’m an out and proud gay man. I swore I wouldn’t get involved with a “straight” man again, but I broke my rules for you. I was constantly tweeting and posting on social media about how important it is to love yourself, to be true to yourself. I felt like such a hypocrite when I was hiding our relationship. I just couldn’t live the lie anymore Zach. We’ve been through this.”

“But Frankie. I _loved_ you. You said you loved me. And yet you chose your fans and your public image over our love. You gave up on me. It took me months to get over. And I haven’t allowed myself to even come close to falling in love again. Cuz love sucks.”

Frankie started to come back at Zach again, but then paused and really considered what Zach was saying, putting himself in Zach’s shoes. Remembering how difficult and scary his own journey of coming out had been.

“Okay Zach. I hear what you’re saying. I’m really sorry if you feel like I gave up on you, on us. I didn’t see it that way. I guess I did get impatient though and that wasn’t fair to you. It just got to the point where it felt like we were no longer bringing out the best in each other. Your ‘I’m straight, slicing pussies’ persona to your fans was like a punch in the gut to me every single time. And I ‘m sure my ogling over Justin Bieber or even Cody was hurtful to you. It just got to be too much. I thought you were on the same page as me about moving on. I guess I was wrong. So – I’m sorry.”

“Yeah you were wrong,” Zach said sadly. “But the damage was done. And we’ve both moved on. Maybe we can try to be friends again. At least for now while we’re teaching together. I don’t know what else to say really…”

“Okay well… thanks for hearing me out. Again, sorry I didn’t believe you tonight about Bradley.”

They stood awkwardly looking at each other, both out of things to say.

Finally Frankie moved toward the door. “I guess I’d better head home and let you get back to bed. Maybe I’ll see you at school tomorrow." 

He turned the knob and opened the door, but suddenly felt Zach grabbing his other arm and pulling him away from the door back into the apartment. Frankie looked at Zach alarmed and confused. Zach placed his other hand behind Frankie’s head and pulled his face close, crashing their lips together. Frankie was initially stiff with shock and confusion but immediately melted into the familiar warmth of Zach’s kiss and the strength of his embrace. Frankie wrapped his arms around Zach’s neck and pulled him close as their tongues met and they remembered the power and passion of their kisses.

Finally Zach broke the kiss and touched his forehead to Frankie’s as they both caught their breath.  Zach whispered, “I think you should go Frankie.”

Frankie nodded in agreement. He placed a hand on Zach’s cheek, looked into his sad eyes, then turned around and silently walked out of the apartment. Zach closed the door behind him then leaned into the door with just one thought filling his mind.

“Fuuucckkkk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you like where the story is going. Comments and suggestions always welcome!


	6. Best Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One night he wakes  
> Strange look on his face  
> Pauses, then says  
> You're my best friend  
> And you knew what it was  
> He is in love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Again. I always have the best of intentions but then life (and live feeds) get in the way! It's 3am - that's how late I had to stay up to get this posted!! :)

When Frankie woke up on Monday morning, he had about two seconds of peaceful bliss before the events of the prior night came rushing back. He looked to his right to see that his bed was empty, with Bradley probably still asleep in the guest room. He remembered vividly every word and every look he and Zach had exchanged in their awkward, tense and ultimately passionate exchange.

He shook away thoughts of Zach, knowing he had to get himself up and ready for school and hoped that Bradley would have the decency to avoid him and to just be gone when Frankie got home from school.

“Decency” however was not Bradley’s middle name. When Frankie went downstairs to grab some coffee and yogurt before rushing off to Pine Crest, he was surprised to see Bradley sitting at the table showered and dressed, drinking a cup of coffee.  Frankie sighed to himself and walked right by him to pour his coffee.

“What time are we leaving to get to school?” Bradley asked.

Frankie looked at him incredulously, “Um, what part of ‘book a flight and leave my house’ did you not understand?”

”Oh come on Frankie,” Bradley reasoned, “We had a big argument, but that was last night. We’ve been together for two years and we’ve been through a lot. We can get through this. I love you; you have to forgive me. We have a show to produce. You need me.”

Frankie felt the fury building up inside him as if a match had been thrown onto a stack of dry brittle wood. How dare this idiot be so pompous and arrogant to think that Frankie would sleep it off and be ready to kiss and make up in the morning? 

“Bradley, let me make it crystal clear for you. I am DONE. What you did to Zach last night opened my eyes to the fact that you are basically untrustworthy. I looked the other way when people told me about some of the things you’ve done, but I can’t do that anymore. I will produce _Hairspray_ just fine on my own. In fact it will probably be better because truthfully you suck at working with kids. And another thing – guess what? I want children someday! You don’t. We aren’t meant to be together and honestly, it’s a blessing that we figured it out now. So please, just make your arrangements and leave.”

“Well fuck you Frankie! I have a contract with Pine Crest and I’m not just walking away from the compensation that’s due to me.”

“Fine. You want your money? Here’s your fucking money.”

Frankie grabbed a checkbook from a drawer in the kitchen and wrote Bradley a check for the full amount of his contract, then shoved it at him.

“I threw in an extra thousand bucks to cover your airfare and cab ride. I’m going to work. I want you out of here by the time I get home. And when you get to LA, you need to move all of your shit out of my house. Goodbye Bradley. See ya never.”

 

Frankie arrived at school and went straight to the office to see Tom. Thankfully he was available.

“Hey Frankie – how are you? How was your weekend?”

“It was okay thanks,” Frankie replied. “ Listen there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“Sure. Where’s Bradley? Does he want to join us?”  
  
“Well,” Frankie hesitated, “That’s what I want to talk to you about. There’s been a change of plans. Bradley will not be co-directing with me after all. He’s on his way back to LA.” 

“Really?” Tom exclaimed. “Wow, it was so important to you that we hire him along with you. Will you be able to handle it on your own?”

“I’ll be fine. Bradley and I … well let’s just say we had creative differences.”

“Oh… okay,” Tom said slowly, realizing that the ‘creative differences’ were likely personal issues and had nothing to do with the show.

“Maybe I can get some of the other staff to help you out,” Tom pondered, “Perhaps some of the support staff or teachers who have free periods in the afternoon.”

“Well, we will figure it out. For now, I’m fine. I’m gonna head over to the theater and do some work in preparation for auditions today.  By the way, since you no longer have to pay Bradley, can I use some of the freed up funds for costumes and design?”

Tom chuckled, “I think that can be arranged.”

The rest of the morning flew by as Frankie busily set the schedule for the auditions, which would begin during that afternoon’s class.  He also reviewed the choreography for _Good Morning Baltimore_. He would begin to teach it today and seeing which students picked up the dance steps quickly. 

When he heard the bell for lunch, he stood up and stretched then headed over to the faculty lunchroom.  There was a Monday Blues lunch provided for the staff to commemorate the first Monday of the school year. Frankie filled up his plate then sat at an empty table and continued looking at his notes for the auditions and the show.

He heard the chair next to him scrape on the floor as another teacher prepared to sit down.  Frankie looked up, his eyes shooting open in surprise as he saw a pair of very familiar warm hazel eyes looking down at him, crinkled at the side as a smirk filled Zach’s face

“Anyone sitting here sir?” Zach joked.

“Nope, have a seat, Mr. Rance,” Frankie answered, returning a shy smile.

“So,” Zach said, “I understand Bryce is no longer gainfully employed by Pine Crest.

Frankie couldn’t help but giggle at Zach pulling out yet another B name. 

“Nope, Bryce, er Bentley, um Braden – oh, whatever his fucking name is - is on his way back to California,” Frankie joked. “It’s now going to be a Frankie J. Grande production.”

“Well,” Zach said, “I’m sorry Frankie. I know you’ve been together for a long time and I’m sure it’s tough. I feel a little guilty about causing the whole thing.”

“No,” Frankie said, “Please don’t feel guilty. The writing has been on the wall for a long time, I just refused to see it. So I think you did me a favor. Yeah, I’m a little sad. But you know me – I move on fast. I’m just trying to shine bright.” 

Zach smiled, “Well, if there’s anything I can do to help you out… actually, I was talking to Tom. You know I have a free sixth period. I can help with the show, if you need it.”

Frankie didn’t know what to say. Was this a good idea? Or honestly the worst idea in the world? He just wasn’t sure. 

“I don’t know Zach…”

“Look Frankie,” Zach said softly, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening, “I shouldn’t have done what I did last night. We’ve tried that road before and we just do better as friends. Besides you’re only here for a few months anyway. Then we’d have the whole long distance thing all over again. You know what I mean?”

Frankie glanced down momentarily at his plate to hide the disappointment he was sure reflected in his eyes, “Yeah, you’re right. Besides talk about a rebound – I definitely need to be on my own for awhile. But I sure could use a friend, plus some help with the show. Thanks for the offer, Zach.”

Zach smirked. “Okay tell me about this _Hairspray_ thing. What is it about, like a beauty salon or something?”

Frankie rolled his eyes, “Oh Zach. We really need to work on your musical theater IQ.”

Frankie spent the rest of the lunch break giving Zach a quick synopsis of _Hairspray_ and talking about the auditions. Zach said he would come help out during 6 th period. There was no golf after school on Mondays so they agreed they would stay after school so that Frankie could fill him in on some of the other plans for the show.

 

Zach was particularly perky through the rest of the day. He had more energy than he normally would on a Monday and he was truly enjoying his classes. There were some really bright students who blew him away with their sharp skills and others who clearly needed more support. But overall, he felt blessed to have good classes with only a few potentially problematic students.

As soon as 5th period ended, Zach straightened his desk and dashed out of his classroom, heading down to the theater. He got there before the bell rang so students were still filing in. As soon as they were settled, Frankie called everyone to attention.

“Hey guys! Did everyone have a great weekend?” Frankie asked brightly.

“YES!!” they called out in unison.

“That’s great!! Well, we have a big day today, the beginning of auditions. But before we get started, I have an announcement. Bradley, er Mr. Michelson, is no longer going to be able to work on the show I’m afraid. He had to return to Los Angeles. So I will be directing and producing the show on my own. But we’re lucky that some of the other Pine Crest teachers and staff will be helping out. And today I’m happy to introduce Mr. Rance, a new teacher at Pine Crest. Any of you have him as your math teacher?”

Five or six students raised their hands.

“Well, good then you already know what a great guy he is. Zach, er Mr. Rance, is an old friend of mine. And what he lacks in singing skills he makes up for with some pretty fancy dance moves.”

The students giggled as Zach took an exaggerated bow.

Frankie took roll, then said he would be calling them up one by one for their singing auditions. The class would extend for about an hour after school ended. Students had submitted their songs ahead of time and provided recordings of their music.  It ran very smoothly.  Zach sat next to Frankie and glanced at the notes he was making during each performance, Frankie had a chart with columns for rating voice quality, stage presence, role potential (lead/supporting/chorus), and general notes.

Other than performances in a few shows as a child, Zach had virtually no theater experience. He loved being on this end of it, seeing the students and watching Frankie at work.  They got through about half the list and would be doing the second half the following day.  Frankie gathered everyone on the stage to start teaching the dance for _Good Morning Baltimore_. Zach settled in ready to watch.

“Mr. Rance,” Frankie said in a sing-song voice, “Come on up. You need to learn this too if you’re gonna be helping with the show.”

Zach laughed, “That’s okay Fr, um I mean Mr. Grande. I’ll just watch.”

“I don’t think so,” Frankie teased, “Get those twerking buns up here!”

A couple students started chanting, “Mr. Rance, Mr. Rance, Mr. Rance!!”

Zach rolled his eyes at Frankie who was grinning wickedly, knowing he’d won the argument.  Zach went up on the stage and started to go into the back row.

“No, Mr. Rance, up here next to me please.”

The students giggled as Zach slowly moved to stand next to Frankie, giving him a mock dirty look.

Frankie turned some music on and started, “Okay guys before we dance we always have to warm up, right? Follow along with me!”

Frankie led everyone in stretches and some simple moves as Zach did his best to follow along. As the steps started to get a little looser and funkier, Zach couldn’t help but add his own signature moves and play it up. The students behind him started giggling, causing Frankie to look over and see what he was doing. Frankie couldn’t help but laugh as well and before he knew it, found himself leaping over toward Zach and starting the “a ga ga ga” dips from their Big Brother dance.  Zach caught on quickly and joined him and before they knew it there was a class full of middle schoolers leaping and dipping, all chanting, “A ga ga ga. A ga ga ga. A ga ga ga.” 

Finally Frankie turned the music off and told the students it was time to settle down and learn the dance.  They were all a little worked up, but the silly warm up had also begun the special bonding that always occurred as a cast came together for a new production. Frankie couldn’t help but notice how the students were so much more drawn to and comfortable with Zach in less than an hour than they had been with Bradley in the three full days he was there. Frankie knew he could do the show on his own if necessary but he was glad to have Zach helping out.

They spent another 20 minutes learning the first part of the dance. Zach picked up the moves quickly and without Frankie asking, began walking around the stage, helping students who were struggling to learn the steps. There was no question that Zach was a natural as a teacher. Frankie was happy that he had clearly found his perfect profession.

After the students left, Frankie and Zach spent another 30 minutes or so talking about the students and about the show. Zach commented on the students who had auditioned, noting how some of them had great voices. 

“Wait till tomorrow.  You still haven’t heard Chloe Williamson. I’m pretty sure she will be our Tracy Turnblad.  And Ethan Reynolds will be the perfect Edna!

Zach looked at Frankie like he was speaking a different language. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh yeah,” Frankie laughed, “I forgot that you’ve never seen the show. Or even the movie.  Hey! I have an idea. What are you doing for dinner tonight?”

“I don’t know,” said Zach, “Probably picking up Chipotle and watching a basketball game.”

“No you’re not!” Frankie exclaimed. “Come to my house at 7. I will make dinner and we can watch _Hairspray_.”

“But the Heat’s playing the Warriors tonight!” Zach whined.

Frankie laughed, “Believe me, one look at John Travolta as Edna and you won’t care about all the touchdowns you’re missing.”

“There aren’t touchdowns in basket… wait. Travolta played a character named _Edna_?” What kind of show is this?”

Frankie laughed. “Just be at the house at 7. Do you remember how to get there? 

“Of course,” Zach smiled. “See you then. I’ll bring beer.”

 

Zach arrived at Frankie’s Boca home a few minutes after 7.  He had no problem getting there, the directions ingrained into his long-term memory.

“Come in!” Frankie greeted him.

Zach handed Frankie the six-pack as he followed him to the kitchen.  Frankie handed Zach a beer, took one for himself, then put the rest in the fridge.

“It smells so good. What are you cooking?” Zach asked.

“It’s a baked chicken dish my mom used to make when we were kids. I hope you’re hungry!” Frankie responded.

“I definitely am!” Zach said. “Can I help?”

“Nope, I got it. Actually if you could bring that bread basket and the butter to the table that would be great.” 

Frankie took the casserole out of the oven and placed on a trivet on the kitchen table, set for two. He pulled a salad out of the fridge and tossed it with vinaigrette dressing.

“I figured we should eat right away so we can watch the movie before it gets too late,” Frankie explained.

“Sounds good to me; I can’t wait to dig in.”

They took their seats at the table and filled their plates.

“So tell me about your classes,” Frankie asked. “Now that it’s been a few days, what do you _really_ think of Pine Crest kids?”

Zach smirked, “Actually they’re great. I love teaching, Frankie. I think I develop a great rapport with kids quickly. I don’t put up with any nonsense but I’m not a monster either. There are a few rabble-rousers in my classes but that’s to be expected.  I’m not too worried.”

“Well, you practically raised Peyton,” Frankie reasoned. “I’m not surprised that you have a natural affinity for kids. How is Peyton by the way?” 

“He’s doing great! Thanks for asking. He’s 14 now and hardly has time for his big brother. He is starting high school and very interested in girls all of the sudden. He’s still golfing and doing really well in competitions. I see him at Shabbat dinner at my grandma’s every week and I try to see him at least once during the week as well, although that will be harder now that school has started.”

Frankie smiled. He always admired Zach’s devotion to his brother.  Having siblings more than a decade younger than them was an experience that he and Zach shared. Frankie completely understood Zach and Peyton’s close relationship. He felt the same way about Ari.

Zach turned the conversation around and asked about Ariana.  Frankie excitedly filled him in on all the great things happening in her career and her new album that would be released before the holidays. 

They talked about some of their cast mates and were laughing at memories of Beast Mode, Devin, and Victoria.  They quickly fell into the comfortable companionship of old friends and Frankie couldn’t have been happier.

“We’d better start the movie,” Frankie said, “I know you need your beauty sleep so I don't want to keep you here too late.” Frankie winked at Zach. “Do you want another beer? I have a special dessert too!”

“Sure.” said Zach. He went into the family room and sat down in a comfortable armchair.

Frankie came in with two beers and a platter of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

“Who wants to have a cookie party?” he cried out.

Zach laughed, “Sa-weet!!!”

Zach took a beer and a couple of cookies and settled in for the movie.

As the movie progressed, Frankie paused occasionally to give some insight or talk about how the scenes would be different in the stage version.

“Dude!” Zach exclaimed. “I can’t believe that’s John Travolta. Why is he playing the mom?”

“That’s how it’s been since the show started. A man in drag always plays the character of Edna. Travolta was nominated for a Golden Globe for this performance!”

Zach loved the fim and was pleasantly surprised at the message within the show, highlighting racism in the early 1960s and how this group of young kids saw beyond it.

After the movie ended, Zach noted, “That era of kids seeing the wrong in racial discrimination sort of reminds me of our generation and the battle for LGBTQ rights, you know? Like we grew up in an era where it was so much more accepted than in our parents’ generation. We had kids coming out as young as high school.”

“That’s true,” Frankie agreed. “How has your family reacted to you being bisexual? I got the feeling a few years ago that they were struggling with the idea that you might not be straight.”

Zach laughed, “Well that’s an understatement. As you well know. My parents had very hard time accepting our relationship – this is not news to you! I think part of it was they thought we just weren’t compatible and maybe they couldn’t get beyond the way you treated me during the game. But I also know they had a hard time with my sexuality. It’s definitely been a journey with them. When I officially came out as bisexual they really didn’t get it. I think they thought it would be a phase or something. But the truth is, I don’t know if and when I settle down whether it will be with a man or a woman. And it’s definitely not a phase, you know?”

“Well,” Frankie conceded, “I certainly know that being gay isn’t a phase for me so yeah I understand. And I’m happy for you. You seem to be so much calmer and self assured. I mean, I know you were Zach Attack and all that, but I saw beyond that exterior lunatic and definitely recognized there was a struggle there. So I’m glad you’ve come to terms with it all. And I’m so happy that we’ve met up again. I really missed you. Zankie, above everything else, was an amazing friendship and I think we both have enough distance now that we can move forward without the awkwardness, you know?”

“Absolutely,” Zach said enthusiastically. “And I’m excited to help out with the show. I have golf practice tomorrow so I’ll only be able to come to 6th period, but I will be there!”

“Great! The kids loved you. And I’m really grateful for the help.” 

“Well,” Zach said, “Thanks for dinner. I’d better get going.” 

Zach stood and started heading toward the door.

“Do you want to take the beer home?” Frankie asked.

“No keep it,” Zach said, “Save it and next time we’ll watch a basketball game instead of a musical! 

“It’s a deal,” Frankie walked Zach to the door.

“Thanks for all the support today, Zach. I have to admit it’s been a rollercoaster of a couple of days with this whole break up and the daunting task of doing the show alone.  You’ve been a great friend. And I have so much fun with you!”

Frankie reached out and pulled Zach into a hug, his arms laced tightly around Zach’s neck. Zach wrapped his arms around Frankie’s waist and held him close. Before he realized what he was doing, Frankie kissed Zach on the neck then pulled away.

“Oops, old habits die hard, sorry!” Frankie said.

Zach laughed, “It’s okay Frankie. It wouldn’t be Zankie if you weren’t grabbing at me and trying to kiss me.”

Frankie smiled and shrugged, “Drive safely Zach. See you tomorrow.”

“Thanks again, Frankie. Sweet dreams.”

Frankie watched till Zach was in the car  driving away.  He went back inside the house, and closed the door, leaned against it, and smiled. It was good to have his best friend back in his life. He tried not to think about how good Zach smelled and how amazing it was to be in his arms for that brief hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like the story so far. Feel free to comment!!


	7. Friends and Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're the best friend  
> That I ever had  
> I've been with you such a long time  
> You're my sunshine  
> And I want you to know  
> That my feelings are true  
> I really love you  
> You're my best friend

Frankie wrapped up class on Tuesday, keeping the students again for about 45 minutes after the end of 6th period. They had gotten through the rest of the auditions during 6th period then worked on _Good Morning Baltimore_ during the after school time. Zach had shown up again and watched the rest of the auditions. He had been appropriately blown away by Chloe and Ethan’s auditions, as Frankie knew he would be.

Once again the students responded incredibly well to Zach. He was a natural. He already knew all of their names and he spent a good ten minutes calming down Rosie Swaggert who had a severe case of stage fright before her audition.  Zach was so sweet. He actually went up on stage with her and started singing her song _Wind Beneath My Wings_  in such a ridiculous voice that she couldn’t help but giggle.

“Okay, little missy,” he joked, “If you think I’m so bad, let’s see you do better!”

And of course she did. The whole encounter made Frankie’s heart soar. He had to restrain himself from pulling Zach into a big hug in front of the whole class.

Zach had to leave a few minutes before 6th period ended in order to get over to the field to meet the golf team for practice. After the students left the theater, Frankie gathered his belongings and walked out to his car, preparing to go home. As he put his items in the trunk he happened to look over toward the field and saw the golf team hard at work.  Watching Zach demonstrating his swing with eight students standing behind him imitating his moves was the cutest thing.  Frankie made a decision. He shut the trunk and headed over toward the field.

“Helllloooo golf team!” Frankie sang out as pranced out onto the field.  Suddenly all eyes were on him.  Zach looked shocked at first then broke out into a hundred watt grin.

“Hey Fra-, I mean, Mr. Grande! Guys, this is an old friend of mine. He is teaching the musical theater class this semester. Mr. Grande, meet the golf team!”

“I know you!” one boy exclaimed. “You’re Ariana Grande’s brother and you’ve been on TV too!”

“Yep, you are right about that!” Frankie responded. “I just thought I would come out and check out the Pine Crest golfers. Did you guys know you have the best coach in all of Florida?

“Frankie, staaahhhhpp!” Zach said, giggling. He was so flustered by the compliment that he forgot to call him Mr. Grande.

“Okay, so I’m not much of a golfer,” Frankie confessed. “Can one of you show me how to swing this stick?” he asked, picking up a driver from the ground. 

“I’ll show you,” said one bold young man.

“Great! What’s your name?”

“I’m David.  Here, this is how you grip the club. That’s what it’s called, not a stick!” he said, showing Frankie how to place his hands and intertwine his fingers. 

“OH, a club. Right. I knew that.” Frankie got the grip down, then moved to an open space.  “Okay, someone bring me a ball; Imma let it rip!” 

The boys all laughed as David ran over and handed him a ball and a tee.  Frankie carefully balanced the ball, then took his stance, his back to Zach and the team. Of course Frankie being Frankie, he made a big scene about getting into his stance.  His feet were a couple feet apart and he bent forward at the waist, wiggling his butt with exaggerated movement and looking over his shoulder to see everyone’s reactions.

The boys were all cracking up. Zach had a big grin on his face, but as Frankie turned around he caught Zach’s eyes laser focused on his ass.  As he sensed Frankie looking at him, their eyes met. Frankie smiled and gave him a subtle wink as if to say, “I know what you’re looking at, Rose.” Zach’s face immediately turned a distinct shade of red.

“Okay Mr. Grande,” he scolded, “Time to hit that ball so we can get on with our practice.

“Okay, okay don’t RUSH me, Coach Rance!”

Frankie took his final stance, then swung the club as hard as he could. And completely missed the ball.

By this time the boys’ giggles had turned to full-on-belly-aching laughter. Zach put his hand on his hip and gave Frankie a mock annoyed look, fighting to keep a smile from breaking out on his face. He knew that Frankie had missed the ball on purpose but he suddenly realized it could be a teaching moment. 

“Can anyone tell me – or maybe tell Mr. Grande – what he did wrong on that swing?

“He didn’t keep his eye on the ball for the whole swing!” Spencer called out.

“That’s right Spencer! Mr. Grande, you have to watch the ball the whole way through, otherwise you’ll make a fool out of yourself. Kind of like you just did!”

“Okay Spencer,” Frankie said with a phony annoyance in his voice, “You know so much. Why don’t you come over here and hit this ball. Show me how it’s done, Mr. Eyes-on-the-Ball.”

Spencer giggled and took the club from Frankie, lined up and took a perfect swing that sent the ball soaring.

“Wow, nice job buddy!” Frankie exclaimed. Then he turned to the team and in a stage whisper said, “Show off!” They all cracked up, including Spencer.

“Okay let me try again. David … another ball please!”

Frankie took his stance again, adding more exaggerated butt wiggles just because he loved the boys’ laughter and Zach’s obsession with his ass, then swung the ball and sent it flying way down the field.

“Yes!!! Frankie yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

All the boys cheered as Frankie did a little victory dance. Zach gave him a high five and said, “Okay guys, everyone line up and you’re all gonna take practice hits just like Mr. Grande and Spencer did.

Once they were finished with that section of the practice they worked on putting. And once again Frankie lined up and basically messed up his putt to an exaggerated degree. And again one of the golfers told him what he was doing wrong so that the next time he took a much better shot.

Without even discussing or planning it, Zach and Frankie had conducted a golf practice that combined fun, teaching, and skill development all in less than an hour.  When practice ended, the boys hunted down all the golf balls and helped Zach put away all the equipment.  

Zach and Frankie walked out to the parking lot together after all the boys had been picked up.

“Well, that was fun!” Zach said. “Thanks for bringing your special brand of humor to my golf team, dude! I think they love you more than they love me now!”

“Ha! Hardly,” Frankie assured him. “Those boys adore you. That was so much fun. And I love how you took my silliness and turned it into an instructional opportunity. You are so damn good at this teacher thing, Zach!”

“Well thanks. I love it. But you know that already. Hey, it’s almost happy hour. Wanna go get a drink?”

“Um… sure, why not?” Frankie agreed.

 

They decided to meet at a pub that was about 5 miles from Pine Crest. They got a booth by the window and both ordered beers.

The conversation flowed easily. They talked about some of their common friends like Cody and Caleb.  They marveled at the fact that Derrick’s wife Jana had given birth to twin baby boys a year earlier.

Frankie asked Zach what it was like being bisexual, dating both women and men. Did he find he had a preference? Did he tend to date one gender more than the other?

“Nah, not really,” Zach answered.  “I don’t know. I haven’t really had any long-term relationships. I’m more of a casual dater. A lot of times, I date a couple people at once actually.  Probably the longest I’ve dated anyone is like two or three months.  I mean I’ve been seeing Tess for six weeks and that’s coming on record territory.”

“So,” Frankie asked, “Is she the one? I mean I like Tess a lot. Do you see this being the relationship that goes the distance?”

Zach laughed, “No! Not at all. We aren’t even exclusive.  Well, at least officially we aren’t exclusive. I haven’t really dated anyone since I started seeing her but I think she dates other guys. It’s all cool.” 

“I don’t know how you do that,” Frankie confessed. “I am a serial monogamist. When I start dating someone, I usually fall hard and fast. Remember when you and I were long distance and decided to have an open relationship?  I was a mess. The thought of you with another guy – or girl – made me crazy.”

“Really?” Zach said. “I thought you were loving it. I hated it to be honest! I was so crazy with jealousy every time you were photographed with a hot guy.  It was torture. When you started dating Bradley exclusively, I was sad, but also sort of relieved. Because then I knew it was over. And I had no choice but to move on.”

They were both silent for a moment as a wave of sadness passed between them.

“Okay enough of this morose reminiscing,” Frankie said. He lifted his glass, “Here’s to a new chapter of Zankie. The best friend chapter!”

“Here here!” Zach replied, clinking his glass. “L’Chaim!”

They had a second beer along with some half priced appetizers and hung out for another hour and a half or so. By the time they got up to leave, Zach told Frankie that his cheeks and stomach hurt from laughing so much. Frankie had told him story after story about his family, his friends, his work. As always his stories were filled with antidotes and character imitations.  Frankie loved to make people laugh and Zach was almost as good of an audience as Ariana was.

Finally Zach said he had to get going. “I have a bunch of math tests to grade tonight. But this was fun. Let’s do it again!”

“Definitely,” Frankie said. “I’m glad we’re friends again. I always have the best time with you.

They said goodbye with a warm hug and both headed to their cars.

 

The rest of the week played out similarly. Zach went to the _Hairspray_ rehearsals when he could and Frankie tried to stop by the golf practices.  They always sat together in the faculty lunchroom. They didn’t repeat their happy hour but every night at some point, one of them would text the other and they’d end up texting and snapping each other through the night.  The rapport and comfort they had with each other returned as if no time had gone by.  Zach and Frankie in less than a week were best friends all over again.

On Friday as they walked toward their cars after school, Frankie said,  “Hey Zach, I’m going to see Nonna tonight but do you maybe want to go to a movie or something tomorrow night? Or have dinner?”

“Oh…” said Zach hesitatingly, “Actually I have a date with Tess tomorrow…”

“Oh, no problem,” Frankie said quickly. “Have fun! Say hi to her!! I’ll see you Monday.”

Frankie climbed in his car and waved goodbye, driving away quickly so that Zach couldn’t see in his eyes the disappointment he felt hearing that Zach had a date.

“Frankie, STOP it this minute, “ he chided himself, “He’s your FRIEND. He’s dating. Let it go.”

Frankie shook it off and headed home, focusing on seeing Nonna later that night.

 

Saturday was a productive day for Zach. He got up early and took Tiger for a walk, then went grocery shopping, paid bills, and graded exams. He also went to the gym for a long work out then came home and relaxed till it was time to get ready for his date with Tess.  

He picked her up at 6:30 and they headed to an Italian restaurant they both enjoyed.  Zach excitedly filled her in on the first full week of school. Tess was pretty much silent as Zach went through each day’s highlights.

Finally when he stopped to take a breath, Tess was able to get a word in, “It sounds like you’ve been spending a lot of time with Frankie. What does Bradley think of that?” 

“Oh…” Zach said, remembering that Tess didn’t know what had happened at their dinner.  “Well, believe it or not Bradley and Frankie broke up. They had a big fight after our double date last weekend and Frankie ended the relationship and sent Bradley packing – back to LA.”

“Wow,” Tess replied, “That must’ve been some fight. What happened?”

“Um…” said Zach, trying to figure out how much to tell her. He decided it was silly to lie, “Actually I didn’t tell you this, but Bradley sort of hit on me at dinner. He reached under the table and tried to grab my dick! That’s why I got up suddenly and went to the restroom at the end of the meal.  Bradley followed me and we had a big argument.  I ended up telling Frankie later that night and … well, long story short, Frankie realized I was telling the truth and that was it.”

“Wow!” Tess said. “I’m shocked.  Wow. I can’t believe it. So… are you and Frankie gonna start dating again or something?”

“What?!” Zach said, “No of course not!”

He was always surprised at how easygoing Tess was with this casual dating thing. A lot of women and even some men said they were okay with it but most turned out not to be.

“Frankie and I know we’re better off as friends,” Zach explained, “We’ve enjoyed spending time together this week and renewing our friendship. But that’s it. He’s going to back to LA in a few months. And he’s just out of a long relationship. He needs a friend right now. Not a new guy to date and complicate his life!”

“Is that how _you_ feel?” Tess pressed. “Would you want to date him under different circumstances? Like if he weren’t just out of a relationship and/or was living in Florida permanently?”

“What? No. I mean… I don’t know. I don’t think so. Frankie and I have tried before and it was nothing but heartache. I think we’re better off as friends.” 

“Hmmmm. Okay,” Tess replied, raising her eyebrows and sipping her wine. 

“Sounds like you don’t believe me,” Zach accused. 

“It’s not that, Zach. It’s just … a blind man could see the chemistry between you two. To be honest, I’m not surprised Bradley was jealous and suspicious of you.  When we were on that date, I was watching you as you watched Frankie talk. When Frankie told his stories you laughed the loudest. You were completely mesmerized. You had the proverbial heart eyes.”

“No, Tess… it’s not –“

Tess held up her hand to stop him, “It’s okay Zach. I really enjoy spending time with you. You’re sexy, smart, and a lot of fun. But I think we both know that this is a casual thing and we aren’t going to be lifetime soul mates. Especially because I think your soul mate might have a penis. And a pink tipped Mohawk.”

Zach opened his mouth to respond. Then closed it. He really didn’t know what to say.

“Look, let’s finish dinner and then you can take me home. Maybe Frankie will be around for a late night rendezvous,” she winked. 

“Well, I’m not gonna see Frankie tonight, but I am tired. So maybe it’s better if we just have dinner and call it an early night. Look Tess, I really like you. I enjoy spending time with you. I don’t want you to think I’m dumping you for someone else. I mean, you’ve given me a lot to think about, but I really believe at the end of the day, Frankie and I are better off as friends and that’s how it will be.”

Tess tilted her head to the side and gave him a cynical look. 

“Zach, give me a break.  Like I said, the chemistry between you and Frankie is palpable. You need to be honest with yourself. Frankie too. Yes maybe the timing is off. Maybe the geography is a challenge. But honestly, who gives a fuck? Most people don’t get a second chance with the love of their lives. How many people do you know who reminisce back to their high school boyfriend or their first love in college and wonder what happened and why they didn’t know a good thing when they had it? Here you are with potentially another chance with probably the only person you’ve ever truly been in love with.”

Zach was silent, absorbing what she was saying. He didn’t know if he was ready to take that step with Frankie again. Hell he didn’t even know if Frankie had any interest in him. But Tess was right. There was a certain magic he felt with Frankie that he’d never felt with anyone before or since. Was it love? Best friends? Both? Who knew?

Zach decided to change the subject, asking Tess about her week. They enjoyed the rest of their meal then Zach drove her home. 

“I’m not gonna invite you up, Zach,” Tess said as she opened her car door. “You can call Frankie or not, but I think you and I really are better off as friends.” 

Zach smiled, leaned over and gave her a big hug.

“Thanks Tess. You really are an amazing woman and a good friend. Thanks for all the great advice tonight.  I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“Yes, please call me and let me know what happens with Frankie!”

  

Zach pulled away from Tess’ apartment and was about to head home when he made a split second decision.  It was just after 10pm.  Not too terribly late. He didn’t even know if Frankie would be home but he decided to drive over. He knew it would be more considerate to call first but Zach was afraid he’d lose his courage if he didn’t just arrive unannounced.  He pulled up to the Grande house about 20 minutes later.  Frankie’s car was in the driveway so Zach figured he was there.

Zach parked the car and quietly walked up to the front door.  Thankfully there were still lights on so he assumed Frankie was still awake.  He rang the doorbell.  A minute later he heard someone walking to the door.

“Who is it?” Frankie asked a bit worriedly.

“It’s me Frankie. Zach.” 

Frankie opened the door, looking surprised. He was wearing a  white tank top and blue short shorts, looking tan and fit as always.

“Zach! What are you doing here? I thought you had a date -.”

Zach reached out and placed a finger on Frankie’s lips to quiet him. Frankie stopped talking and looked confused and a bit nervous.

Zach moved his hand to caress Frankie’s cheek, smiling softly at him, then he reached around to the back of his neck and pulled him close.  Zach closed the distance between them and joined their lips in a soft kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds and looked into Frankie’s eyes.  Frankie hesitated then moved in to kiss Zach again this time more forcefully, licking his lower lip and exploring Zach’s mouth with his tongue as he wrapped his arms around Zach’s neck

Finally they pulled apart and Zach touched his forehead to Frankie’s.

“We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think!!


	8. Taking Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The judges will decide  
> The likes of me abide  
> Spectators of the show  
> Always staying low  
> The game is on again  
> A lover or a friend  
> A big thing or a small  
> The winner takes it all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is record timing for me - got a new chapter up in three days. In fact I was the last one to update a Zankie fanfic! No one's gonna even notice there's a new chapter lol.

Frankie wordlessly led Zach into the family room where they sat down facing each other on the sofa.  Frankie looked over at Zach and smiled.

“So… not that I’m complaining or anything,” Frankie said,  “But what the fuck was that? Did Tess turn your ass down tonight so you decided I was the next best thing?”

“Ha,” Zach laughed, “Not exactly. Look Frankie, I don’t really know what I’m doing here to be honest. I… I’m so glad we’re back in each other’s lives. It’s been a crazy couple weeks but I feel like I have my best friend back.  I don’t ever want to do anything to jeopardize that again.  You know? But… well…”

“I know,” Frankie interjected. “I feel exactly the same. And I’m just out of a relationship so…”

“It’s just – I don’t know,” Zach continued, “I told Tess tonight about you and, um, Barnum breaking up and what happened when he hit on me. She said she wasn’t surprised that he was jealous because she said the chemistry that you and I have is undeniable.  Tess is totally cool. I told you our dating was very casual and she was the one who convinced me that I needed to talk to you about all of this.”

Frankie smirked at Zach coming up with yet another B name. 

“Well,” Frankie replied. “It’s not the first time we’ve heard that. Our whole cast commented to us and in interviews that there was a noticeable attraction between us. Julie Chen called ours ‘the greatest showmance Big Brother had ever seen.’ Our fans, oh my God, our fans… We couldn’t get anything past them. They caught the looks, the slip-ups, the heart eyes. Whether we were loving or torturing each other, I don’t think either of us can deny that the passion was off the charts.”

“No that’s definitely true,” Zach agreed, “But we hurt each other so much. We were awful to each other. Just like in the house when we turned on each other, we did it after the show ended too. We would have some passionate rendezvous, then I would disrespect you by denying everything and going totally _no homo._ I mean, do you remember #notmyhand? Who did I think I was fooling?”

They both laughed, remembering that night when Zach was drunk and in love and impulsively posted a Snapchat of Frankie dancing seductively over his face as he reached up and grabbed at his crotch. Frankie couldn’t believe he actually posted it but they were both foolishly head over heels in love without a care in the world at that moment. It was Cody about a half hour later who convinced Zach that he might regret that Snap in the morning. So Zach deleted it and then after sobering up decided to deny it completely even though it was obvious on so many levels that it was his hand.

“And I would pressure you to stop hiding, to come out already,” Frankie conceded. “I would make you feel guilty about forcing me to keep my love life private. At the time it felt so wrong and against everything I stood for to keep denying what was obviously happening. But now I can see how unfair it was for me to try to drag you out of the closet when you clearly weren’t ready. I’m sorry Zach. I really am.”

“I’m sorry too Frankie. I hate that we were so awful to each other. I hate that our stubbornness led to us completely severing not only our romantic relationship but our friendship too.”

“And that’s the dilemma for me,” Zach continued, “Renewing our friendship in the past week, hanging out, helping each other at school, texting and Snapping every night, reminiscing about our friends – I LOVE all of that. I could be happy just being your best friend forever. I really mean that. I have to admit that I’m afraid if we give into the physical attraction and go down that road again, we’ll end up exactly where we did before. We’ll have some falling out or whatever and then we’ll lose everything. The friendship too. I don’t know if I want to risk that.”

“I hear you, Zach,” Frankie replied, “I feel the same way – that it’s such a blessing to have you in my life again as my best friend. I honestly never stopped missing you and was always sad that Zankie fell apart so completely and disastrously. But here’s the thing. A lot has changed. For one, you’re no longer in the closet. You’ve come out as a bisexual man and you are open and comfortable in your sexuality. That's huge. Plus, let's face it, we’re older and wiser. We can look back at how badly we handled things and realize the mistakes we made.”

“You know what I keep thinking about?” Frankie continued. “Remember at 54 Below when I sang _The Winner Takes It All_ to you?”

“Well of course, Rose,” Zach replied. “How could I ever forget that? I may have been completely wasted thanks to your mom and the non-stop tequila shots. But that was a magical night. I watched that video so many times, I knew every look, every touch, every lyric by heart.”

“Same here,” Frankie said with a smile, “It’s still one of my favorite performance moments ever. You know what my favorite part was? When I sang the line _lover or a friend_ and you looked into my eyes and replied _or both?_  I was so taken aback by your openness that I almost forgot the lyrics. It was honest and raw and romantic. I knew at that moment that I was in trouble. Because I loved you _so_ much. But the sad part was that we lost it – the lover _and_ the friend – we became lovers but all of the bullshit made us lose not only that but the friendship too. And now we have the friendship back. So I’m scared.” 

“Well what about the fact that you’re barely out of a relationship?” Zach asked. “I don’t mind being a rebound for a hot piece of ass now and then but that’s not what I would want with you!”

Frankie laughed. “I mean… yeah. I’m just out of a relationship. So on paper the timing sucks. But, fuck, life isn’t a rom com where everything happens at the exact right moment. We’re here now. Fate somehow threw us together again and holy shit, look at that, we can still barely keep our hands off of each other!”

Zach smirked and took Frankie’s hand in between his two, rubbing it gently to try to warm Frankie’s always-chilly fingers, “Look Frankie. We may be nuts to even try this again but I want to make a deal. You mean more to me than anyone else in my life except maybe my parents and Peyton. I want you in my life forever. I don’t know how that’s going to look. If it’s as friends, that’s great – I would be blessed to have you as my best friend. If it’s as lovers or more, then wow, amazing … but I would be willing to sacrifice the romance to save the friendship. So if it isn’t working for either of us we need to be honest and figure it out as we go. Deal?”

Frankie took his free hand and placed it on Zach’s cheek, caressing him with his thumb.

“It’s a deal, Zach. I know it’s a little crazy and I’m nervous about taking the next step too. But honestly, I feel like if I don’t kiss you again right now, I might literally die. Like literally fall to my death.”

Frankie leaned in and joined their lips together, wrapping his hand around Zach’s neck and pulling him close. The kiss started slowly, allowing them to languidly explore each other’s mouths. Within a few moments though, the kiss became more insistent as their passion caught fire. Frankie pushed Zach back on the couch, lying on top of him, then moving his mouth off of Zach’s lips and planting soft kisses on his cheek and then his neck. He remembered where Zach’s sensitive spot was right below his right ear and began to nibble there as Zach let out a soft whimper.  Frankie pushed his thigh in between Zach’s legs, and Zach reacted by grinding himself against him. Frankie moved his mouth up to Zach’s ear, biting down gently on his earlobe, then whispered, “let’s go to my room.”

Frankie stood up, giving Zach his hand and pulling him to a standing position. As Frankie started to lead Zach toward the stairs, Zach pulled back on his hand and brought Frankie close, kissing him again fervently. He grabbed Frankie’s ass and pulled him as close as he could. Zach moved his hands down Frankie’s thighs and lifted him up, keeping their lips joined. Frankie wrapped his legs tightly around Zach’s waist. Zach carried Frankie up the stairs to his room as Frankie continued to kiss his neck and nibble on his ear.

When they got to the room, Zach lowered Frankie’s legs to the ground, then grabbed the bottom of his tank top and pulled it over his head.  He unbuttoned Frankie’s shorts and removed them and his tight boxers, then stepped back to admire him. 

“Frankie,” he said in a husky voice, “You are the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. Your body is even more perfect than I remember.”

Zach reached out and caressed Frankie’s nipples then ran his hands down Frankie’s defined abs, teasing his cock and balls with a light touch.  Frankie groaned with desire.

“Zach… strip for me.” 

Frankie moved back and sat on the bed, leaning against the pillow and staring at Zach with hungry eyes. He started to touch his cock to relieve some of the pressure, but Zach interrupted him.

“Uh uh.  If you want me to strip, I will. But no touching yourself. That’s all for me.”

Frankie reluctantly moved his hand off of his cock and watched Zach expectantly.

Zach unbuttoned his shirt and let it drop from his shoulders, revealing his extremely fit chest and the best arms Frankie had ever seen. He slowly unzipped his shorts and dropped them to the floor, leaving him just wearing a pair of very tight black briefs, his cock bulging. As Frankie looked on hungrily, Zach walked over to the bed and stood in front of him, his groin right at Frankie’s face level. Zach slowly lowered his underwear and his hard cock sprung free.

Frankie licked his lips, then leaned forward and teased Zach’s cock with his tongue, just taking the head into his mouth. His hands came down and caressed Zach’s balls as he took more of his cock in his mouth. As he sucked on Zach’s cock, he moved his right hand around Zach’s back and reached in to touch his rim. Zach groaned loudly as his hips bucked forward.

Frankie pulled Zach down on the bed, onto his back then crawled up and kissed him again passionately as he worked his cock with his hand. Slowly Frankie moved down Zach’s body, taking the time to suck on each nipple till it was hard and plant soft kisses down his stomach. Zach whimpered softly in response. Finally he took Zach’s cock in his mouth again, reaching his hand underneath Zach’s ass and running his finger gently over his rim.

“Please Frankie…” Zach whispered, “I want you to fuck me. I’ve missed you so much.”

Since coming out as a bisexual, Zach had mostly topped when he had sex with men. But with Frankie, his first male lover, he had always loved to bottom.  There was just something beyond amazing about giving up control to Frankie who was an experienced and skilled lover. 

Frankie moved his mouth off of Zach’s cock and hoisted Zach’s legs up so that his calves rested over Frankie’s shoulders. Frankie gently pulled Zach’s ass cheeks apart and ran his tongue over his asshole, taking long swipes while Zach groaned with pleasure. As he felt Zach begin to relax, Frankie pushed his index finger into Zach’s hole.

Zach hissed initially as the full feeling caused some pain. But slowly he began to relax as Frankie moved his finger around, stretching out the hole.  A few minutes later he pushed a second finger in and as he stretched the hole, his fingers brushed over Zach’s prostate.

“Oh my God, Frankie oh my God!” Zach cried out. He was seeing stars and completely falling apart.

Frankie inserted one more finger to make sure that Zach was completely open, then removed his hand and reached in his bedside table for a lubricated condom.  He rolled the condom on his throbbing dick as Zach watched, stroking himself in anticipation.

Frankie smiled at Zach and pushed his hand off of his cock, then pulled his legs up over his shoulders again and lined himself up, slowly pushing his cock into Zach, pausing to let him adjust.

Frankie was overwhelmed with how amazing it felt, even more turned on as he watched Zach’s face in the throes of passion. His eyes were closed tightly and his head thrown back on the pillow as he pushed back against Frankie, needing Frankie to move.  Frankie began to thrust slowly hoping to make it last as long as possible. 

Zach was completely lost in the moment. He had forgotten how incredible sex was with Frankie. He’d had a lot of sex since they broke up but never had it been like this. Never had he felt as loved and admired and lusted over the way Frankie made him feel. As Frankie’s thrusts became more erratic, hitting his prostate each time, Zach felt his abdominal muscles begin to tighten as his orgasm approached.

“Frankie I’m so close, oh my god...”

Frankie wrapped his hand around Zach’s cock and began pumping it in rhythm with his thrusts. Zach was groaning as he felt a wave of pleasure down his entire body. He came onto Frankie’s hand and cried out as the orgasm washed over him. 

Seeing Zach experience such a massive orgasm was all Frankie needed to bring him over the top. He moaned loudly as he felt his own orgasm take over, filling the condom before he fell down onto Zach’s chest as pleasure wracked his body.

They were both speechless as their bodies recovered, breathing hard and trying to find their voices.  Finally Frankie sat up and pulled out, removing and disposing the condom. He went into the bathroom, quickly rinsed his mouth out, then brought a towel into the bedroom so they could both clean themselves off.

Frankie curled up into Zach’s side, resting his head on his chest. “Can you spend the night?” he asked shyly.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Zach teased. “It’s a good thing I asked my neighbor to take care of Tiger tonight. I thought I’d be staying at Tess’. Talk about an unexpected change of plans!”

Frankie giggled, then raised his head and looked into Zach’s eyes, running his fingers though Zach’s thick wavy hair.

“I know it’s crazy to say this – I mean I just got out of a two year relationship a week ago -  but… I love you Zach Rance. I don’t know much but I do know that. I’m scared as fuck and have no idea how we are going to move forward from here. But right now, in this moment, in my bed, in Boca, Florida, all I know is that I am completely and totally in love with you.

Zach’s eyes glistened as he fought back tears.

“Frankie… it’s always only been you. I’ve spent the last few years dating and sleeping around and having fun – if you could call it that – but I never even came close to loving anyone again. I guess somewhere deep inside I still loved you even though I would never let myself admit it. When I saw your face in the faculty bathroom, it all came rushing back and it scared the shit out of me. I have no idea how the logistics of this will work. All I know is I lost you once and I won’t let it happen again.

Frankie leaned down and brought his lips to Zach’s kissing him softly. Zach wrapped his arms around Frankie as their tongues began to explore. They stayed like that for a long time, kissing and caressing each other, relishing in the joy of being in each other's arms again.  Finally Frankie pulled away and kissed Zach on the cheek.

“Good night my love,” he said as he rested his cheek on Zach’s chest.

“Good night Frankie. I love you, sweet dreams,” Zach said as his eyes got heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think! Should I keep going or would this be a good ending???


	9. Welcome to New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like any great love, it keeps you guessing  
> Like any real love, it's ever-changing  
> Like any true love, it drives you crazy  
> But you know you wouldn't change anything, anything, anything

It was a Tuesday afternoon in late November. Zach was just as anxious as his 5th period class for the day to be over. He had done a short lesson at the beginning of the period then let the students work quietly at their desks. The chatter was louder than he would normally allow but he knew the kids were just as ready as he was for the five day break.

He and Frankie were flying out on a 9pm flight, headed to New York for Thanksgiving with the Grandes.  Zach was really excited to see the Grande clan and to be back in New York, one of his favorite cities.  Since he didn’t have a 6th period, he was going home to finish packing then meeting Frankie at his house where they’d get an Uber to take them to the airport.

He had dropped Tiger off at his parents’ house the night before.  They were understandably disappointed that he would be gone for Thanksgiving but they understood. It had taken some time for them to come around to the idea that Zach had started seeing Frankie.  Zach didn’t tell his parents anything until they had been dating for over a month. It was a sensitive topic. During the first year after Big Brother, there had been considerable strain with his parents when it came to the topic of Frankie.

First, they were upset at how Frankie had treated Zach in the game and about some of the things he’d said to and about Zach. Zach had to remind his parents repeatedly that it was a GAME and that no one could understand what it was like to be in that house unless they experienced it themselves. Truthfully, Zach had never watched Big Brother 16 all the way through after he got home. He watched a lot of YouTube videos, some of the episodes and clips of live feeds that fans sent him. He had an idea of what had gone down but as far as he was concerned, it was over once the season ended.

But it wasn’t just the game play that upset Kevin and Jill. They were also baffled at the idea that their eldest son, the handsome frat boy, was being identified as gay or bisexual when they’d never seen any evidence of this possibility before. They weren’t blind. They saw what happened over the summer, the intimacy and closeness that Zach and Frankie often displayed. Jill reiterated in interviews that Zach was straight and she certainly didn’t see anything wrong with bros cuddling with each other. But away from the microphones, that assurance sounded as ridiculous to her as it did to the fans.

During that first year, Jill and Kevin were more or less aware of what was going on with Zach and Frankie.  Zach didn’t share the details but between what was put on social media, the bits and pieces they could get from Zach, and the fluctuations in his moods, they had a pretty good idea. When Zach and Frankie sort of lost contact, Jill was secretly relieved. She just felt that Frankie created confusion for Zach and that their relationship was fraught with too much drama. Now Zach could move on, go back to dating girls, and hopefully find a nice girlfriend.

So when Zach came out as bisexual, Jill and Kevin really didn’t know what to think.  They recognized that he was just casually dating and were convinced that it was a phase and that eventually Zach would get it out of his system and hopefully be ready for a serious relationship, a wife and kids.

But when they found out that Zach was finally in a serious relationship and not only was it with a man but none other than Frankie Grande, they realized that all their previous assumptions were more like wishful thinking.  Big Brother had been over for several years and the Rances had long since accepted that they couldn’t judge Frankie by his behavior in the Big Brother house when it really was just a game.  It was a bit awkward the first few times they saw Zach and Frankie together but it had become more comfortable recently.

The bottom line was that Zach was happier than he’d been in years. He loved being a teacher and loved working at Pine Crest. He was in a healthy relationship in which he was clearly ecstatically happy.  Things couldn’t be going any better for him and for that, the Rances were grateful.  They were concerned about what would happen once the semester ended and Frankie would likely need to return to Los Angeles or New York but knew it was none of their business.

Finally the bell rang signaling the end of 5th period. As soon as the students left the classroom, Zach hurriedly gathered his belongings and headed for the parking lot. He had cancelled golf practice so he could go straight home.  He got in his car and pulled out his phone to send a text to Frankie.

Zach: _Hey babe. I’m about to drive home to finish packing.  See you in a few hours._

Frankie: _Okay. I’m planning on leaving right after 6 th period. No after school rehearsal today. See you at my house at 6pm. Don’t be late!_

Zach: _HA! Who’s the one who is ALWAYS late? I’ll give you a clue: Not me!! Love you._

Frankie: _Who me?_ *winky emoji* _See you soon, love._

 

Zach arrived at Frankie’s at about 5:45. Packing was actually kind of fun.  Zach had hardly left Florida in the past two years and never needed more than a long sleeve shirt or light jacket.  He loved Florida but he was excited to get some late autumn chill in NYC.  He still had a nice collection of winter clothes, some of which he had picked up at his parents’ house when he dropped off Tiger.  His pink suitcase was filled to the brim.

Frankie was still packing when Zach arrived. Of course. It really shouldn’t be that difficult for him since he had an entire wardrobe in his New York apartment, including all of his winter clothes. But Frankie was perennially late and Zach knew this.  Zach ordered the Uber and by the time it arrived a few minutes later, Frankie was ready to go.

They arrived at Ft. Lauderdale airport with plenty of time to go through security and get to their gate.  The airport was buzzing with activity as the Thanksgiving crowds began their journeys to family and friends.  As they sat waiting for their flight to board, Frankie grabbed Zach’s hand, holding it in his lap between both of his. He smiled at Zach, “I’m so happy you’re coming to my family Thanksgiving. It means a lot to me. I know it’s hard not to be with your family.”

“Yeah a little I guess,” Zach acknowledged. He tried not to think about his grandmother’s pursed lips when he told her he wouldn’t be there this year. She was not taking the news of his relationship with Frankie terribly well. “But I can’t wait to see your mom and sister. And Nonna. And everyone! I’ve never had Thanksgiving at a restaurant before.”

“Oh this isn’t just any restaurant. We love having Thanksgiving at 21 Club – they have a beautiful private room – the Jack Room – and the meal will rival any home cooked Thanksgiving you’ve ever had, I promise! 

Thankfully the flight was on time.  As Business Class travelers, they boarded first. Zach had balked when Frankie booked their tickets in Business.  He fully intended to pay for his own ticket but the Business Class prices were out of his budget.  Frankie insisted on paying for both tickets and told Zach that if they were going to travel together, he was just going to have to accept that Frankie always flew Business or First Class.  Zach had a lot of pride and didn’t want Frankie to be his sugar daddy. Frankie respected that but when it came to travel, there was no debate. Zach decided to let it go and enjoy the perks of traveling in style.

 

By the time they traveled from JFK to Frankie’s apartment in the city, it was after 1am and they were both exhausted. They stripped down to their underwear, washed up and collapsed into Frankie’s bed within 20 minutes of arriving. Frankie wrapped himself around Zach like a spider monkey, running his hands through that unruly hair and turning his face toward him so he could give him a proper kiss goodnight. Zach returned the kiss opening his mouth and exploring Frankie’s with his tongue. Even three months later, kissing Frankie still sent a thrill through Zach as if it were the first time.

Zach groaned, “Oh my God Frankie, I want you so bad, but I’m so fucking tired.”

Frankie laughed, “Don’t worry my love, I’d probably fall asleep in the middle of fucking you at this point. We’ve got the whole weekend, there will be much sex, I promise.”

Zach growled, grabbing Frankie’s ass, “I’m gonna hold you to that Frankie Grande. Good night, I love you.”

“Love you too, sweet dreams,” Franke replied as he succumbed to the heaviness in his eyelids and fell fast asleep.

  

The next day, Frankie had some business meetings, so Zach had made plans to meet up with AJ for lunch.  After spending the morning with Frankie. Zach took off for the restaurant where he and AJ had agreed to meet.  AJ was there already and stood up from his booth to wave Zach over and give him a hug.

“So great to see you, buddy,” AJ said. “You look great. How’s life as a Pine Crest teacher?”

“I love it,” Zach said with a smile. “The teaching, golf coaching, all of it. It’s been an amazing few months.”

“I’m glad. I have no doubt you are every kid’s favorite teacher. So tell me – what the fuck is up with you and Frankie?”

Zach laughed. AJ and Lauren were still good friends and she had called him as soon as she hung up the phone with Frankie after Frankie gave her the news.

“Well, I’m sure you heard the gist of it from Lauren. So yeah… Frankie and I both ended up as teachers at Pine Crest and three months later, here we are again. Just as obsessed with each other as we were three years ago. I don’t know what it is about that man, but he completely mesmerizes me." 

“Well, you know I’ve been Zankie af since the summer of 2014 so I couldn’t be happier for you. But – Frankie’s only at Pine Crest for the semester right? What are you guys going to do after that?”

Zach was quiet for a moment. It was the elephant in the room. He and Frankie never really talked about it other than assuring each other how in love they were and that they would never let each other go again. But the semester ended in January so the time was coming when they would have to figure it out.

“Well to be honest, I’m not really sure. We haven’t exactly talked about it in any great detail. The thing is, we are completely in love. We will figure it out. I’m hoping he will make Florida his home base and just travel as needed for special events, hosting and so on. But we’ll see…”

“Well,” AJ reassured, “I didn’t mean to stress you out. I’m sure you will work it out. I’m excited to see Frankie tomorrow.”

“Yes!” Zach exclaimed, “I’m so glad you’ll be at the Grande Thanksgiving. I’m sure it will be memorable.”

“It was so nice of Frankie to include me,” AJ said, “There was no way I was going to make it back to Florida this weekend so I’m glad to have somewhere to go. I think Lauren put a good word in for me. It sounds like there will be a lot of friends there in addition to the Grandes.”

Zach asked AJ about his life in New York. He was an associate in a law firm in Manhattan and hoping to become a partner within 2-3 years. He still loved living in New York. No he didn’t have a serious girlfriend. Yes he was dating. No he and Lauren weren’t together but they still loved flirting and hanging out now and then. 

After a two hour lunch, AJ said he had to run – he still had a few hours to put in at the office before the long weekend.

Zach wandered around town for awhile, window shopping and enjoying the bustle of the city.  He went into a boutique and bought three gorgeous scarves, one for each Grande woman. 

Finally he headed back to Frankie’s apartment earlier than he had planned to return, even though he didn’t expect Frankie to be back for another hour or so.  He used the key Frankie had given him to let himself into the apartment. As he took his coat off to hang up in the front hall closet, he was surprised to hear Frankie’s voice. It sounded like he was on a phone call. As he hung his coat up, he started hearing the words Frankie was saying.

_Mommy, I can’t believe it! This has been my dream for YEARS – you know that!..._

_Yes, in February. For at least a four month run…_

_No I haven’t talked to him yet…_

_Please don’t say anything tomorrow…_

_Yes, he’s so excited to be here and to see you too…_

_He went to lunch with AJ. He won’t be home for an hour or so…_

_When? Well, I figure I will talk to him about it later this weekend. Or maybe not till we get back to Florida. I’m not sure yet. Just make sure Ari and Nonna know not to say anything. I haven’t told anyone else..._

_Okay, yes. We won’t be late…_

_I PROMISE Mommy! Zach is very punctual; he’ll keep me on schedule…_

_Tonight? We’re gonna have a romantic New York night, just the two of us…_

_Okay, I love you too. Thank you so much! See you tomorrow._

By the time Frankie ended his phone call, Zach had quietly made his way into the living room and was standing in the doorway, looking at Frankie’s back. Even having only overheard half of the phone conversation, Zach was almost shaking with disbelief. Clearly Frankie had been making some very major plans without a word to him.

Zach cleared his throat and Frankie jumped in his seat and turned around at the sound, looking both shocked and a bit guilty like the little boy who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He quickly plastered a smile on his face.

“Zach! What are you doing home so soon? How was lunch with AJ? I missed you my love!”

Frankie stood and skipped over to where Zach was standing, wrapping his arms around him.

Zach pushed him away, “No.”

“Zach… what’s the matter?”

“You know what’s the matter Frankie! I got home over five minutes ago. I overheard your phone conversation. What’s happening in February for at least four months?

Frankie’s face fell. When he first realized Zach was home, he desperately hoped that he’d just arrived and hadn’t heard the conversation." 

“Zach, I was going to talk to you about this. I just… I wanted to wait till after Thanksgiving.”

“Seriously Frankie? Give me a fucking break! If there’s something major happening in your life, I should be the FIRST person you tell, not the one who you’re making sure doesn’t find out.”

Frankie took a deep breath. “Okay Zach. C’mon let’s sit down.”

Zach let himself be led to the sofa. Frankie sat down beside him and took his hand.

“Zach, one of my meetings today was with the producers of _Jersey Boys_. They offered me the role of Frankie Valli. On Broadway. That’s been my dream role forever.”

Zach was stunned. He jumped off the couch and started pacing and shouting. “WHY DIDN’T YOU EVEN TELL ME THIS WAS A POSSIBILITY? Why don’t I have a say in this? I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME! I thought we were partners. Why am I just hearing about this now when it’s a done deal?”

“Come on Zach! You knew that my job with Pine Crest was temporary. What did you think was going to happen? Did you think I was going to become a full time teacher? Or just retire in Boca and eat bon bons all day? I have to think about my next step.”

“YOUR next step?” Zach raged. “What about _our_ next step? Or is this it? Was I just a convenient boy toy while you played in Florida for a few months? I mean give me a break. I love you Frankie. You’re the one for me. I thought you felt the same way. And yet here we are, three months in and you’re making plans to move away.”

“Oh my God, Zach. You are NOT my boy toy. I LOVE you. I’ve always loved you. I’m not choosing Broadway over you. I… I know it’s going to be tough. But we will make it work. We will travel back and forth between Florida and New York. You can come up on weekends. And don’t think I won’t fly down to Florida for 24-hour trips on my days off. It’s a four month job. It’s not forever. It’s going to be okay. I promise. You have to trust me.”

“But then what?” Zach whined, “What comes after _Jersey Boys_?” Is it going to be a TV show in Hollywood? A musical in London? A reality show traveling around the world?”

“I don’t know Zach,” Frankie answered softly. “I honestly don’t know. We are going to have to make some decisions. That’s part of being in a relationship. I know you love your job. You are an amazing teacher. And… well, there are schools all over the country that need good teachers. Maybe we’ll find a city to settle in where you can get a great teaching job and I can pursue my entertainment career.”

“But Florida is my home. My family is there. I love Florida!”

“I know,” Frankie acknowledged, “I know how tied you are to Florida. I am too. We will always have a home in Florida and we will spend time there. I just don’t think that I can settle in Florida and continue to pursue my career.”

“So basically you’re saying your career is more important than I am,” Zach said coldly. “I see how it is.”

“Oh please Zach, give me a break!” Now Frankie was getting a little heated. “I can use the same argument on you. You’re saying your family and job are more important than I am. That argument does neither of us any good. It’s not like I was living permanently in Florida and this came out of nowhere. We both knew my Pine Crest job had an expiration date. So we need to figure it out. We WILL figure it out Zach. I’m not letting you get away.”

Zach looked over at Frankie as his eyes filled with tears. “Frankie, I’m so torn. I mean my first thought was I’m SO fucking proud of you and excited for you. I know that this is a role you’ve always wanted. You were born to be on Broadway and I’m so happy for you. But shit… I’m gonna miss you. I can’t imagine not seeing you everyday.” 

Zach’s voice broke and he hastily wiped tears away.

Frankie walked over and gently placed his hands on Zach’s cheeks, forcing him to look him in the eyes.

“Zach, you are the love of my life. You’ve made me happier in the past few months than I’ve been in years and years. I believe in you and I believe in us. We are going to figure this out, okay?” 

Zach slowly nodded his head. Frankie pulled his face close and kissed him gently.  Zach wrapped his arms tightly around Frankie, kissing him back with intensity bordering on desperation. It was as if Frankie’s kiss was keeping him alive. Zach pushed Frankie back down on the sofa then lay on top of him, continuing to kiss him as if his life depended on it.

Finally Zach pulled his lips away, keeping his face close and looking deep into Frankie’s eyes. Frankie could see the turmoil and pain in Zach’s eyes and it tore him apart.  The last thing he wanted to do was to mar this weekend that they had been anticipating for so long. He wanted it to be perfect which was why he planned on talking to Zach after the holiday was over.

Finally Zach spoke, “I… I’m scared… scared that you’ll leave me –“

“ _What_? Frankie asked bewilderedly, “Don’t be silly, that will never happen!”

“Just listen, Frankie. Let me finish.” Zach took a deep breath. “I’ve dated a lot in the last couple years since we broke up. A lot. Men and women of all stripes and colors. And some of them were amazing people. It’s been fun, recreational. But I never fell in love again. I just… I couldn’t go there. It took me so long to get over it after you and I called it quits and I just decided that for the time being, I didn’t want to ever risk experiencing that kind of pain again. You know that saying “it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?” I decided it was total bullshit and I was done with love.”

“And then you come waltzing back into my life. And before I know it, I’m madly in love with you all over again. Except even more so now than before. Because there aren’t any secrets any longer. We can be out and proud and together without the burden of me being closeted. “

“Yes of course I knew that we’d have to deal with geography once your Pine Crest gig ended, but I foolishly hoped that maybe Florida could be your home base and you’d travel as necessary. I just feel like once you get back into that jet setting lifestyle with your celebrity status and your A List friends, your simpleton boyfriend who’s a teacher in Florida will become more of a burden than a soul mate.”

Frankie smiled, ruffled Zach’s hair, and caressed his cheek. “Zach… I don’t know how to make you believe this, but… I promise you on the life of my family and all whom I love that I am not going to abandon you or forget about you. I LOVE you. I mean, I want you to let those words sink in. You once told the world we were isotopes. I still don’t know what the fuck that means but it was honestly the most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

Zach chuckled at the memory of the isotope tweet.

Frankie continued, “You were a closeted bisexual trying to convince the world you were straight and yet when you saw that I was in pain, you put all of that aside to publicly tell the world that we were isotopes, that we had something special, that Zankie was real. I’ve never forgotten that and honestly never really gotten over it. I may not be physically in the same city as you for a short time, but I’m not GOING anywhere. You’re stuck with me. We’re lifers, Zach. We’re isotopes.”

Zach stood up and silently offered Frankie his hand then led him into the bedroom. He stopped next to the bed and pulled Frankie back in his arms kissing him passionately, urgently exploring his mouth with his tongue and running his hands down his back, grabbing his ass and pulling him close.

Frankie gently pushed Zach onto the bed and lay next to him, continuing the kiss as he worked the buttons on Zach’s shirt. He pulled back to allow Zach to shed the shirt and took the opportunity to take his off as well.  Frankie looked hungrily at Zach’s muscular chest and beautiful face. Zach reached up and ran his hands over Frankie’s abs, stopping to caress his nipples. 

Frankie lowered his face and began kissing and nibbling on Zach’s neck and chest, taking his time as he worked his way down his body. Zach’s eyes were closed and his head thrown back on the pillow, his heavy breathing turning to whimpers and moans.  Frankie teased the waistband of his pants, running his finger underneath, then lightly cupping Zach’s erection over his pants.  Zach bucked his hips up trying to deepen the contact. Finally Frankie unzipped and removed Zach’s pants and then his briefs, releasing his rock hard cock.

Frankie quickly discarded his own pants then lowered his mouth to Zach’s cock, first just using his tongue to spread the precum over the tip.  Zach’s hips bucked as he willed Frankie to take more of him.  Frankie lowered his mouth over Zach’s cock, taking him deep into his throat.  Zach tangled his fingers into Frankie’s hair as Frankie sucked and licked Zach’s cock, teasing his balls with his hand. 

Frankie pulled his mouth off and stroked Zach with his hand.  He put the index finger of his other hand into Zach’s mouth and Zach immediately closed his lips around it and sucked with hunger and lust. Frankie removed his finger then lifted Zach’s hips and teased his rim with the moistened finger.  Frankie lowered his mouth back onto Zach’s cock as he pushed his finger through the tight ring of muscles into Zach’s ass. Zach groaned loudly and thrust his cock harder into Frankie’s mouth.  Frankie moved his finger around stretching Zach’s hole then bent his finger and brushed it against Zach’s prostate. 

“Oh my God Frankie!” Zach cried out. His face was flush and his eyes closed.

Frankie stopped for a moment. “Zach look at me.”

Zach forced himself to open his eyes. He looked down and met Frankie’s eyes.  Frankie continued to suck on Zach’s cock and slowly move his finger in Zach’s ass. He loved looking into Zach’s eyes, seeing the desire and passion as clear as day. As Frankie brushed against Zach’s prostate again, Zach couldn’t help but shut his eyes again and throw his head back.

“Frankie, I’m gonna cum…”

Seconds later with a loud groan, Zach shot his load down Frankie’s throat. Frankie licked him clean then moved up and joined his lips back to Zach’s, pressing his groin into Zach’s thigh.  Zach reached down grabbed Frankie’s dick, stroking it slowly as he continued to kiss Frankie. Frankie moaned, rocking himself into Zach’s hand 

Zach had been ready to return the favor and give Frankie a blowjob. But he couldn’t pull away from the kiss. Nor could Frankie. It was different than usual. The kissing was passionate yet romantic, intense yet loving, hot yet intimate.  Frankie slowed down the kiss taking time to explore every part of Zach’s mouth running his finger tips slowly up and down Zach’s back.. Zach used his free hand to caress Frankie’s cheek gently as he slowly continued to stroke his cock. As their bodies rocked together, Frankie felt his orgasm building. He moaned into Zach’s mouth as his body tensed and pleasure washed over him. Zach continued stroking him till he was spent.

Finally Zach pulled back and grabbed a box of tissues from beside the bed. They cleaned themselves off then intertwined their bodies as they continued to caress one another.

“I love you Zach,” Frankie said softly. “I know we have challenges ahead but we’re going to figure this out, okay?”

Zach nodded.

“Do you trust me?” Frankie asked.

“Always,” Zach smiled.

“Good. Now … who’s hungry?”

“Oh my God, I am! Do we have any food here?”

“Not really. How about if I order in Chinese?” Frankie asked.

“Perfect!”

 

As the Thanksgiving dinner wound down the next night, Zach looked around the table.  Seeing the three generations of Grande women, surrounded by more than a dozen of Frankie and Ari’s close friends, Zach decided there was nowhere he would rather be. Family truly came in many forms and he felt very much a part of this one.

Zach stood up and clinked on his glass to get everyone’s attention.  Frankie looked at him in surprise.

“Zach,” he whispered, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry Frankie, I got this.”

As everyone quieted down, Zach raised his glass.

“I know I’m making Frankie really nervous right now. And I kind of like it,” Zach joked, following it with his wicked laugh. 

Everyone laughed.

“No but seriously,” Zach continued, “I just want to say thank you to Joan and the Grande family for including me in this amazing dinner. And Frankie, I don’t know what I did right in life to deserve a second chance with you, but I will be forever grateful that we somehow ended up at Pine Crest together and that you dumped that loser Bryson because you couldn’t resist the Zach Attack.”

As the laughter died down, Zach concluded, “Anyway, I’m so happy to be here with so many amazing people and I just want you to know that I am grateful for all the blessings in my life, most especially this gorgeous pink-Mohawked man sitting next to me. Speaking of whom… I think Frankie has some news that he’d like to share with all of you. Frankie, I love you and I’m so proud of you.”

Zach sat down and gave Frankie a soft kiss. Frankie stood up and gave a little curtsy.

“Well I wasn’t going to share this tonight because I didn’t want to make it all about me. But – let’s be honest it’s always about me, right?” Frankie said with a wink.

“Yaaassss!” Ari called out.

Zach looked up at Frankie, all heart eyes and mushy smiles as Frankie broke the news about his upcoming Broadway role and everyone whooped and hollered and shouted out questions.

Zach was still nervous about the long distance and how they were going to make it work. But he was certain of his love for Frankie and that he wouldn’t let him get away. And more importantly, he truly believed that Frankie felt the same way. They had a once-in-a-lifetime love and both of them were determined to honor it, preserve it and make it work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay still going... the next chapter will be the holidays and the Hairspray performance and Zankie figuring out their future - possibly the last chapter. 
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think! Feedback is always appreciated and motivates me to keep going!


	10. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santa, tell me if you're really there  
> Don't make me fall in love again if he won't be here  
> Next year  
> Santa, tell me if he really cares  
> 'Cause I can't give it all away if he won't be here  
> Next year

“C’mon Frankie, hurry up. Grandma will kill us if we’re late!” Zach was pacing.

“Give me two minutes, I swear I’m almost ready,” Frankie called out.

Zach was in the family room of Frankie’s house. It was the first night of Hanukkah and they were celebrating with the Rances at Zach’s grandma’s house. It was only December 2nd. Zach hated when Hanukkah fell so far ahead of Christmas; there was so much pressure to get all the shopping and everything done.

Frankie came running down the stairs. Zach looked over and burst into laughter. Subtly was not his middle name for sure. He was wearing white short shorts, a grey shimmery shirt and a bright blue blazer with white wedgie sneakers. To top it off, his Mohawk was tipped in blue.

“So – blue for Hanukkah I presume?” Zach asked with a smile.

“YES!” Frankie answered. “You like?”

“I love.” Zach said with a smile. “Okay let’s get going, my little festival of lights.”

“Okay okay let me just grab the gifts.” Frankie opened the hallway closet and pulled out three shopping bags full of brightly wrapped gifts, all in silver, blue and white wrapping paper.

“Frankie! I told you not to make any big deal about gifts.” Zach exclaimed.

“Yes I know you did. When have I ever listened to you when you try to tell me that less is more? Come on my love, let’s go, we’re gonna be late!” 

Zach shook his head as he followed Frankie out to the car.

 

Zach pulled up to his grandma’s house at 6:10, not bad since the dinner was called for 6:00.  He and Frankie gathered up their bags of gifts and worked their way to the door. Before they could ring the doorbell the front door flung open and there was George with his arms open wide.

“FRANKIE! Come in!!” He pulled Frankie into a huge hug.

Frankie hugged George back, “George! Happy Hanukkah. It’s so great to see you. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Well of course, “ George said, then added in loud stage whisper, “I’m just happy to have another token goy in the group.” Although neither George nor Frankie were Jewish, they both might as well have been. They knew the traditions remarkably well, but they loved to play their “the non-Jews in the room” cards as well.

George and Frankie had developed the oddest most wonderful bond. Once Zach’s grandma realized she had no choice but to accept that he and Frankie were together, they had finally spent time together socially several times over the past month. It was a little awkward at first, but Frankie as always had an amazing ability to put everyone at ease. He was charming to Grandma but with George he was brilliant. They played off each other’s stories and by the end of their last dinner together, they were finishing each other’s sentences as if no one else was in the room. They were both so funny that the rest of the family couldn’t help but delight in their back and forth. Zach was so grateful to George because he knew that George’s seal of approval insured that Grandma would be on board as well.

“Hello GEORGE,” Zach said with mock annoyance.  “Remember me? Your best man?” 

“Well, hello son… Zach right? You look vaguely familiar,” George joked.

George gave Zach a warm hug as they worked their way into the house. Zach’s family was there already. Grandma and Jill were finishing up in the kitchen.  As Zach and Frankie said hi to Peyton and Kevin, the ladies came out to greet them. 

“Hello Jill, hi Robin. Thank you so much for having me. I’m so happy to be able to celebrate with you,” Frankie gushed.

Both women gave him a big hug.

“Okay everyone, Let’s light the menorah,” Grandma guided everyone to the table. “Frankie will you do the honor?”

She handed Frankie the box of matches. Zach looked over at his mom and smiled. This was a BIG deal.  There had been outside guests at the Rance Hanukkah in years past, but Grandma always had a family member, usually Zach or Peyton, light the candles on the first night. Asking Frankie to do it was definitely an olive branch and made Zach love his grandma even more. 

Frankie lit the shamash, the center candle on the menorah used to light all the other candles, then took it out of the menorah to light the candle for the first night of Hanukkah.  He led the prayer as the rest of the family joined in, “Baruch atta adonai. Eloheinu melech ha’olam…” Frankie began chanting the blessing with confidence.

They then recited the Shehecheyanu, a traditional blessing that expressed gratitude for being together and for celebration.  Zach loved that Frankie knew all the prayers. While he didn’t consider himself Jewish, his practice of Kabbalah meant that he understood and embraced many principles of the Jewish faith which was important to Zach.

The family had a boisterous dinner as always. The meal included traditional holiday dishes such as potato latkes, brisket and for dessert jelly donuts. George and Frankie as expected dominated the conversation, by the end challenging each other to “how many _xxx_ does it take to change a light bulb” jokes, celebrity impersonations and a rowdy game of “would you rather” that revealed George would rather run naked down the street than get a lap dance from an obese woman and Frankie would rather eat only Big Brother slop for a month than give oral sex to a woman.

A couple hours later, after all the gifts had been opened, Zach looked over at Frankie to see if he was ready to go.  Frankie was deep in conversation with Grandma and his mom telling them behind the scenes stories of his experiences on Broadway. The ladies were completely transfixed with his stories, laughing at his antics and over the top descriptions.

Zach had known that his family would be completely enchanted with Frankie once they could get past not only the crap that was said in the Big Brother house but also the idea that Zach had fallen madly in love with a man rather than a woman. Frankie was truly the most entertaining, positive, loving, upbeat person Zach had ever met. People who only knew him as a public figure sometimes assumed that it was fake or a put-on, but no, that’s actually who Frankie was. And now that the Rances were spending time with him in a private family setting, they could see that too. Zach was immensely relieved at this development to say the least.

“Okay,” Zach finally said, “I think Frankie and I should get going. We have school tomorrow and it’s a big week getting ready for _Hairspray.”_

“Yes!” Frankie exclaimed. “I hope you’re all coming to one of the performances!! It’s so amazing and Zach has been a HUGE help!”

“Zach was telling me the dates. December 13th through the 16th right?” Jill asked.

“Yes! I think you should come to the Saturday night performance. It will be a lot of fun with a lot of energy. Can I set aside tickets for all of you?”

Robin nodded that she and George were in and Jill said that they could all make it as well.

Frankie and Zach made the rounds to say goodbye.  Zach almost rolled his eyes when he saw George and Frankie exchanging phone numbers. That friendship was the oddest most hilarious thing ever.

Once in the car, Zach asked Frankie why George wanted his phone number.    

“Oh no, I asked him for his number. It was my idea,” Frankie replied.

“What? Why?!” Zach asked laughing.

“We’re gonna make a lunch date. He’s my new bestie. What a great guy. Why have you kept him hidden from me all these years? I mean let’s face it; George is me in about 60 years.”

“The two of you crack me up,” Zach said shaking his head. “You are double trouble.”

“Oh you love it,” Frankie mocked.

“You’re right, I do,” Zach admitted, reaching over to squeeze Frankie’s thigh. Frankie held onto Zach’s hand and interlaced their fingers. They drove quietly for a bit until Frankie broke the silence

“I had such a great time tonight, Zach. Your family is amazing. I’m so glad they included me,” Frankie said.

“Well you’re very generous to say that, given what they’ve said and how they treated you in the past. It’s really a tribute to you that they’ve come full circle. I knew once they got to know you, they would love you. I mean honestly, everyone does.”

“Hey,” said Frankie, “the past is the past. As my girl Oprah says, _when you know better you do better_. I never worried that I couldn’t win your family over. I mean no one will ever love you like I love you. And vice versa. I knew when they finally realized that, they would come around.” 

“Speaking of coming…” Zach teased as he pulled into Frankie’s driveway, “First one to the bedroom gets blown first!” Zach raced out of the car and dashed to the front door, then pouted when he realized that he didn’t have a key to Frankie’s house.

Frankie sauntered up the walkway behind him dangling the key chain with a smirk on his face.

“You know you wanted to blow me first anyway, my love,” he said with a wink.

*****                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Before they knew it, the show week was upon them.  Zach couldn’t believe how much went into putting on a musical production. From auditions to casting to choreography to memorizing lines to set and costume design. And then there were rehearsals. Lots and lots of rehearsals… it was exhausting, overwhelming, but most of all exhilarating.

Frankie had a great team helping him. When Bradley left, a number of faculty members had stepped up to help with some of the logistics. The front office staff had designed and printed the program and managed ticket sales. The Home Economics teacher had worked with some of the parents on costumes. But the biggest help of all had been Zach. 

Frankie told Zach repeatedly that he honestly didn’t know how the show would’ve come together without him.  Although his time was somewhat limited, he attended as many rehearsals as he could. He knew the show inside and out, including the songs and dances, the script and all the set changes. Zach hadn’t been involved in a theatrical production since he was a kid so he was learning as he went along, but he had to admit he loved every part of it.  He was great at helping students individually with their lines or their dances. He was funny and attentive and completely beloved by everyone.

It was Monday afternoon and 6th period had just ended. Frankie gave the kids a 10-minute break before they continued the rehearsal. He and Zach went backstage to check on some of the set designs.  As soon as they were behind the curtains, Frankie grabbed Zach in a big hug, kissing him on the neck, and whispering, “I love you Zach. I don’t know how I could’ve done this without you.”

Zach smirked then, after glancing around to make sure they were alone, pushed Frankie up against the wall and kissed him deeply grinding their bodies together as Frankie let out a soft moan.  They lost themselves in the kiss for a moment until they heard a loud gasp.

Zach flew off of Frankie as they both turned toward the sound.  Rosie Swaggert, the shy girl with stage fright that Zach had helped on the first day of auditions, stood in front of them with her hand over her mouth, looking like she’d seen a ghost.

“Rosie…” Frankie said gently, “It’s okay. Come here, let me explain.”

“Um… no, it’s okay. I… I’m just going to go back out front.”

“Rosie,” Zach tried, “Wait, let’s talk.”

“I don’t want to talk. It’s okay, I’m not going to tell anyone, I promise.”

Rosie ran off before they had a chance to stop her.

Frankie giggled nervously, “Well that was awkward.”

Zach looked at him like he was crazy.

“Awkward? And you’re _laughing_? Frankie, this is a disaster. You know Rosie isn’t going to be able to keep this to herself. She’s going to tell her friends and it’s going to spread all over the school.”

“Zach,” said Frankie, “It’s okay. So what? We’re dating. We were kissing. It’s not like you were on your knees sucking my cock. This shouldn’t be a problem. If you were caught kissing Ms Rivera, would you be as concerned?”

“No. I mean yes… of course. It’s inappropriate no matter what to be doing that at school. But the fact that it’s us, two men, makes it more scandalous; you _know_ that. It just is the way it is. And you’re leaving in a few weeks. So it’s no big deal for you. But I’m still going to be working here and dealing with the repercussions,” Zach said nervously. 

“Look,” Frankie said, “We can continue this later because we have to get out there and finish rehearsal. I will try to catch Rosie before she leaves and talk to her one on one. It’s gonna be okay. Relax.”

After rehearsal ended, Frankie quickly pulled Rosie aside and said he needed to talk to her for a minute.  Rosie reluctantly walked with him to a quiet place in the theater.

“Do you want to talk about what you saw?” Frankie asked gently.

“No not really,” Rosie answered curtly.

“Listen, Rosie,” Frankie continued, “Zach, er Mr. Rance, and I shouldn’t have been kissing back there. That wasn’t appropriate and I’m really sorry you walked in on it because I’m sure it’s awkward for you. But we’ve known each other for a long time and now as you can see, we are in a relationship. It isn’t something that we planned to make public at school and I’m really sorry you saw that. It was probably upsetting for you. If you have any questions or concerns, please know that you can talk to me or Mr. Rance at any time, okay?” 

Rosie nodded, looking clearly uncomfortable.

“Um, I have to go. I think my mom is probably waiting for me.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow. Great job in rehearsal today!” Frankie called out as she rushed out of the theater as if she were escaping a fire. 

Frankie looked over at Zach and shrugged. He just shook his head and turned around to go gather his stuff as the last students slowly left the theater.

 

On Tuesday morning, Zach was eating a bagel and looking over his lesson plans before leaving for school.  His phone buzzed with an incoming text.

Tom: _Hi Zach, anyway you can come to my office before class starts today, maybe like 7:40?_

Zach immediately tensed up. The principal calling him to the office? Why did he feel like he was in the 4th grade again? 

Zach: _Yeah sure. Is everything okay?_

Tom: _Yeah everything’s fine. I just need to speak to you about something._  

Zach usually got to school by 7:30 so it wasn’t a problem to get to Tom’s office in time.  The secretary told him to go ahead and have a seat in the office and that Tom would be there momentarily. Zach was looking down at his phone when he heard someone come in. He glanced toward the door and was surprised to see not Tom, but Frankie.

“Frankie?” Zach asked, “What are you doing here? I have a meeting with Tom.”

“Me too,” said Frankie, holding his phone out so that Zach could see that Frankie had received the identical text that Zach got.

Before they had a chance to contemplate what the meeting might be about. Tom came in and closed the door.  Frankie took a seat next to Zach. 

“So you are probably surprised that I called you in. I need to talk to you both about a phone call I got last night.  Mrs. Swaggert, Rosie’s mom, called me rather distressed.

Zach and Frankie glanced at each other, both with a knowing look in their eyes. They had a feeling…

“Do you want to tell me what happened? Because I know what Mrs. Swaggert told me and apparently Rosie was pretty upset yesterday.” 

Frankie took a deep breath, “Look Tom, I’m sure you’ve gathered from what you heard from Mrs. Swaggert that Zach and I are seeing each other. This wasn’t something we planned obviously but you, more than most people, know our history. And, not to go into great detail, but not long after Bradley and I broke up, Zach and I realized that we still cared for each other and… well, here we are.”

“Well that’s fine,” Tom continued. “But honestly you can’t be making out at school where students might see you. What were you thinking?” 

“Clearly we weren’t thinking,” Zach conceded. “It’s my fault. Frankie gave me a hug and I kissed him. We sort of forgot ourselves for a just a few seconds but unfortunately that’s right when Rosie came backstage. We tried to talk to her but she was very uncomfortable.  I’m sorry Tom. I can assure you it won’t happen again.” 

“Absolutely,” Frankie chimed in. “I spoke with Rosie after rehearsal. I know she was upset. I really tried to reassure her but she seemed to want to just forget she ever saw it. I’m actually surprised she told her mom.” 

“Well,” Tom explained, “Her mom said that she could tell Rosie was upset about something but didn’t want to talk about it.  It took quite a bit of cajoling but she finally got Rosie to tell her what happened. And… well, Mrs. Swaggert did express some concern about her daughter seeing two men kissing. I said that Pine Crest is a non-discriminatory campus. I told her we have both faculty and students who are LGBT and we do not tolerate bias against anyone based on their sexual orientation. But she said that Rosie is young and hasn’t been exposed to same sex relationships. And it was upsetting to her.” 

“So where do we go from here Tom?” Frankie asked. “I mean, what’s done is done. We feel terrible; I can assure you it will never happen again. Do we need to talk to Rosie again, call her mom? I mean what can we do?”

Frankie was typically action-oriented. Something happens, he wants to resolve it and move on. Zach was thinking longer term though, and dreading what this could mean for the rest of the school year if word got out. And how he would deal with it without Frankie by his side.

“I’m concerned,” Zach added, “because Frankie won’t be here next semester and I may have to deal with whatever fallout there might be if word gets out. I have to admit the whole thing is stressing me out.

“Mrs. Swaggert doesn’t feel like it’s necessary to have a meeting,” Tom replied. “She alerted me to what happened and asked me to speak to the two of you to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Beyond that, I don’t think there’s anything more to discuss.”

“Okay,” Frankie said, “Well we both felt really bad about this. We’re sorry it upset Rosie.”

“Yeah,” added Zach, “I can’t tell you how awful I felt all evening. I could just tell by Rosie’s face that she was shocked and confused and unsure how to process it. I’m really sorry, Tom.” 

“No problem,” Tom assured them. “It’s going to be fine. You are both valuable members of our faculty and excellent instructors.  Was this a mistake? Yes. Is it career ending? Not even close. It will all blow over.”

Frankie and Zach left the meeting and headed out of the office.  Frankie didn’t normally arrive at school this early but he had a lot to do to prepare for the show. Zach needed to get over to his classroom to set up for first period.

“Zach, it’s going to be okay I promise,” Frankie said as they began to head in different directions. 

“I know.  I’ll see you at lunch okay?” Zach turned toward his classroom.

Frankie knew that Zach was very troubled but he didn’t know what else to do other than to reassure him and just be there for him.

 ***** 

Opening night had finally arrived. There was a buzz of excitement backstage as the students put on their costumes and had their make up done. Frankie had amassed  an amazing team of parents who were volunteering to help get everyone ready.  Frankie was conferring with the audio visual operators while Zach made sure all the sets were in place and ready to go.

Once he was satisfied that all was in order, Zach walked backstage to where all the kids were getting ready.  He glanced over toward the make up area and immediately noticed a couple of the mothers leaned closed together and whispering excitedly.  When they saw Zach, they quickly jumped apart as if they’d gotten an electric shock.

Zach’s heart sank. He knew at that moment that Rosie’s mom had likely confided in someone who then confided in someone and so on. He had no doubt in his mind that the women had been talking about him and Frankie. The guilty looks and sheepish smiles they gave him were all the confirmation he needed.

He tried to put it out of his mind in order to get through the show. Frankie had worked so hard and the kids were incredible. Zach was also proud of his part in the production and just wanted to enjoy it.  But he had a pit in his stomach as the show began, realizing that things were going to be a lot different around Pine Crest.

The applause in the theater was thunderous as the closing curtain fell after the final bows.  Frankie and Zach were back stage trying to keep the cast under control.  There was enough energy amongst the kids to light up an entire city block.

The show had gone beautifully. Yes there were a few forgotten lines and yes some of the lighting cues had been missed, but the mistakes were miniscule and likely not even noticed by most of the audience.  Frankie was incredibly proud of the cast and let them know how amazing they were.  Zach was completely caught up in the excitement as well and even forgot about his worries for a short time.  He put it out of his mind and decided he wasn’t even going to talk to Frankie about it till after all of the performances were over. 

*****

It was Christmas Eve and Zach was laughing heartily as Frankie performed his infamous holiday song, “I Do the Christmas Tree,” for all the friends and family who were gathered at the Grande home.  Since Zach’s family didn’t celebrate Christmas, this was a big treat for him.  As he nursed a hot mug of apple cider, he laughed along with everyone. When Frankie sang, “My boyfriend – he understands that Christmas comes and goes…” Ariana yelled out, “Hey Zach, he didn’t make _boyfriend_ plural; that’s a first!”

Everyone cheered as Frankie winked at him and Zach blushed a deep shade of red. The night continued with more music as one after another person took over the piano and everyone sang Christmas Carols. In what world was it that Zach was singing _Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer_ and _Silver Bells_ with Ariana Grande?

A little while later, they did a small gift exchange. While most of the presents would be opened the next day, Joan had bought everyone there a small gift. Zach opened his brightly wrapped package. Inside the Tom Ford box was a small leather wallet. The dark leather was soft and supple and the initials TF were in gold on the bottom right.  It was simple and elegant. Zach loved it.  He went over to give Joan a hug.

“Thank you so much, Joan. I’ve never had anything so nice. I love it.”

“You’re welcome, Zach. I hope you use it in good health. I’m so glad you’re here with us tonight.”

She leaned in and whispered, “And I can’t wait till you give Frankie his gift.” She winked at him. 

Zach smirked and said, “I’m going to do it right now.”

He walked over to where Frankie was sitting with Nonna and Ari and handed him a small box.

“Here babe, this is for you.” Zach said. 

“What?” Frankie exclaimed, “We aren’t doing gifts till tomorrow, you know that!” 

“Yeah I know. But this is special. I want you to open it tonight.” 

By this time the others in the room were watching them and it had gotten fairly quiet.

Frankie took the box from Zach with a puzzled look on his face and shook it. It was very lightweight. He unwrapped the package and opened the small box.  Inside was a folded piece of paper.  He opened it up and began to read, his brows furrowed in confusion.  After a couple moments his eyes opened wider and his hand flew to his mouth as he began to comprehend what the letter said.

“This is from The Calhoun School… how?” Frankie was baffled. “They’re considering you for a job? How did you even know about the school? Oh my God Zach, this is amazing!”

He jumped up from his seat and threw himself into Zach’s arms. 

Zach laughed, “Well after I realized that all of Pine Crest pretty much knows about our relationship thanks to Rosie and her mom, the motor mouths of Boca, I had a realization. It’s not that I want to keep our relationship a secret. And I’m not ashamed of my sexuality. But I just can’t imagine not having you around to make my days as joyous as they’ve been the past few months. I know you’re not a teacher and we won’t probably ever work at the same place again. But I wanted to find a way to continue being a teacher and also being close to you. I’m going to finish out the year at Pine Crest, but I’m really hopeful that this job at Calhoun will come through.”

“How did you even know about Calhoun anyway? It’s one of the finest private schools in Manhattan!” Frankie asked.

Zach looked over at Joan and smiled. “Well, I wanted it to be a surprise for you. And your mom is a very knowledgeable and well-connected woman in case you didn’t realize it! I called her and asked if she had any ideas of schools I could apply to in New York. She told me about Calhoun then made a call and got me a phone interview, which went really well.  I’ve set up an in-person interview for February when I come into town for your opening night.  They have a couple openings for math teachers next year, so I’m really hopeful.”

“Okay, this is by far the most amazing Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten from a boyfriend… maybe from anyone,” Frankie gushed. “I love you so much Zach. This is unbelievable.” 

Frankie suddenly grabbed Zach by the wrist and pulled him over to the doorway. Zach was totally confused until Frankie pointed up and Zach saw the mistletoe hanging down.  He smiled as Frankie pulled him close and kissed him passionately.  Everyone hooted and hollered, cheering them on.

Frankie broke away from the kiss and turned to the crowd, saying in a sassy voice, “If you’ll excuse us, I need to give Zach his Christmas Eve present privately. We’ll be right back!” 

As Frankie dragged Zach away, Zach hissed, “Fraaannnkkieee, what are you doing? Everyone’s gonna know what we’re up to!” 

“Yeah… and?” Frankie retorted with a wink.

He dragged Zach into a bathroom off of the kitchen and shut the door, pushing Zach up against the wall. He placed a hand on each of Zach’s cheeks and brought their lips together for a long, loving kiss.  Zach moaned into his mouth as Frankie cupped Zach through his slacks.  Zach pushed against Frankie’s hand immediately becoming hard.

Frankie pulled away from the kiss and looked down as he unbuckled Zach’s belt and unfastened his pants, letting them drop to the floor.  Zach threw his head back onto the wall as Frankie lowered himself to his knees, pushed Zach’s boxers off and began licking the length of Zach’s cock, teasing him and running his tongue over the head, which was already leaking.

Zach groaned and pushed himself toward Frankie, needing him to take in more. Frankie finally stopped the slow agonizing tease and took Zach’s entire cock into his mouth and began sucking and deep throating him.  As one hand teased his balls, Frankie moved his other hand around toward Zach’s ass and lightly teased his rim with just a ghostlike touch that was driving Zach crazy. Zach’s moaning was getting louder to the point that Frankie started giggling.  He handed Zach a hand towel, suggesting he put it over his mouth so that everyone didn’t hear his animalistic sounds. 

Zach was so worked up that he knew he wasn’t going to last long. As Frankie’s finger worked its way through the ring of muscles and into his ass, Zach felt his orgasm building.  Frankie was teasing him as he moved his finger around, but when he finally brushed against his prostate, Zach had to bite down on the towel so as not to cry out as he came into Frankie’s mouth.  Frankie licked him clean then stood up and pulled Zach back into his arms, kissing him ardently.

He pulled away and leaned his forehead against Zach’s as Zach recovered. 

“Zach I want you to know how incredible I think you are. I know that Florida is your home and you’ve never wanted to move away. The fact that you’re willing to make this life-changing move as a way to show your love for me and your belief in our relationship – well, it’s huge. And I love you so much for doing it. You don’t even know."

“Listen babe," Zach replied, "The moment I first saw you in the faculty bathroom at Pine Crest, all the feelings I had for you in the past came rushing back. Then when Billy Bob came into the bathroom and I realized you were in a serious relationship, my heart sank. I didn’t know how to process what I was feeling. I just feel so blessed to have been given a second chance. I love teaching; I’ve found my passion career-wise, and I know that I can be equally effective with rich spoiled kids in New York as I am in Florida."

Frankie laughed, “Okay pull up your slacks, Ranceypants. We better go back out before Mommy sends a search party. I love you so much. Thanks for my present.”

“I love you too Frankie. Merry Christmas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions! This story is close to being done... Hope you're still enjoying it!


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before you cross the street  
> Take my hand  
> Life is what happens to you  
> While you're busy making other plans
> 
> Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
> Beautiful boy  
> Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
> Beautiful boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the positive feedback about this story. This is the final chapter. Sorry it took so long!!

Frankie was backstage in his dressing room, putting the finishing touches on his make up.  He kept looking at his phone, getting more and more anxious by the moment. Zach hadn’t shown up at the theater yet and the curtain was going up in 20 minutes.

Why on earth did he schedule his interview with the Calhoun School today? Frankie had urged him to try to change it to the next day, but Zach didn’t want to rock the boat or create any issues with the administration who had set up the interview.  Zach had flown into New York this morning and gone straight to the interview so Frankie hadn’t even seen him yet.  It had been a month since Frankie had last seen Zach in Florida and he missed him desperately.

“Don’t worry, Frankie,” Zach had assured him. “My interview is at 4:00. That gives me plenty of time to get to the theater way before the show starts at 8:00.”

Frankie had texted Zach at least six times and left him three increasingly anxious voicemails since about 5:30. His calls had gone straight to voicemail, letting Frankie know that Zach had turned his phone off which frustrated him even more.

“You okay?” a familiar voice said from the doorway.  Zach turned around with a weak smile.

“Strigs… where is he?! I need him here or I’m going to be distracted the whole show. Why didn’t he just change the fucking interview?”

Lauren walked over to where Frankie was sitting and gave him a warm hug from behind.  As they looked at their reflection in the mirror, Lauren smiled.  Their friendship was as solid as ever. They knew each other inside and out and Frankie was thankful daily for her presence in his life.

“He’ll be here Frankie. That boy loves you to death and he knows what this means to you.  Have faith. I’m gonna go out and see if he arrived.  He probably doesn’t know how to get backstage.”

Lauren left the dressing room and Frankie continued fiddling with his make up, trying to distract himself.

“Twelve minutes till curtain up,” Vic the stage manager called out as he walked through the dressing rooms. 

Frankie took a deep breath and tried to get Zach out of his mind. He took one last look at his phone for a missed text or call then powered it off. He bent down to put it in a drawer then stood up and turned toward the door.

“Zach! Oh my God, you scared the hell out of me. Oh Zach!! I’m so glad you’re here!!”

Frankie closed the distance between them and Zach wrapped him up in a huge bear hug.

“Of course I’m here babe. I wouldn’t miss it. Did you ever doubt me?” Zach said with a smirk. He had been standing in the doorway for a short time, watching Frankie check his phone and put it away. He should have said something, but honestly he could just watch Frankie forever. The man still took his breath away.

“Well, you sure cut it close!!” Frankie whined. “I’ve been calling and texting for the last hour.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I turned my phone off before the interview. And I was in such a rush to get over here that I forgot to turn it back on. The principal and vice principal insisted on taking me out for dinner… after offering me the job!!”

“NO way?! Zach! That’s fantastic. I’m SO proud of you. Wow… this is really happening?!”

“It’s happening, Rose. Zankie does New York.” Zach paused for a minute, then pulled something out of his pocket. “Here. I got this for you. To congratulate you on getting your dream role and to wish you a great show and an even greater run.”

Frankie smiled at Zach, “Aw you didn’t have to get me anything. Your being here is the most important thing to me.”

“I know that. But I got you something anyway.”

Frankie unwrapped the package. Inside was a small Tiffany’s box.

“Tiffany’s?! Really? Wow, I didn’t even know you knew what Tiffany’s was!”

“I’m not that dumb, Grande! Plus… your mom kind of helped me,” Zach admitted with a smirk.

Frankie laughed as he lifted the lid of the small blue box.  Inside was a silver Tiffany’s dog tag.

“Look at the back,” Zach said. 

Frankie turned it over to see that was engraved #Zankie4Lyfe.”

“I thought you could put it on your chain with the other dog tag you wear,” Zach hastily explained.

Frankie looked up at Zach with a smile, eyes glistening. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much. I love you Zach.”

“I love you too Frankie. Now I’m gonna go find my seat and spend the next two hours with heart eyes as I watch the hottest man on Broadway slay _Jersey Boys_. Break a leg, my love.”

Zach leaned in and gave Frankie a sweet soft kiss so as not to smudge his make up.

“I’m gonna expect to see your Jersey boys later tonight,” Frankie said in a sultry voice with a wink.

Zach laughed as he exited the room and made his way to the theater. He looked around and saw Joan and Nonna in the front row with a seat between them.  Zach smiled as he made his way over to them.

“Well if it isn’t two of my favorite people in the world!” Zach exclaimed as he leaned down to give both women a hug and a kiss.

“Zach! We’ve been waiting for you,” Joan said. “Lauren said that Frankie was a nervous wreck that you wouldn’t make it. Did you go see him?”

“Yeah I was just with him. You know there’s no way I wouldn’t be here on time. It’s just that the Calhoun principal and vice principal insisted on taking me out to dinner… after offering me a job!!”

“Zach!” Joan exclaimed, “That’s fantastic! I’m so thrilled for you. Frankie must’ve been beside himself. Congratulations.”

“I never doubted for a minute they’d hire you,” Nonna insisted. “You are a great teacher and after seeing how well you worked with the kids during _Hairspray,_ it’s clear to me that you were meant to have a career working with children. Congratulations; they made a great decision.”

“Well thank you ladies,” Zach said, blushing from all the praise. “Can I just carry you around in my pockets and have you tell me how great I am all day long?" 

“Be careful what you wish for!” Nonna joked.

Just then the lights dimmed and everyone took their seats.  At that moment, Ari snuck out from a side door and took the other empty seat next to Joan. She had wisely stayed backstage so as not to attract attention.  She looked over and blew kisses to Nonna and Zach as the theater darkened and the music started.

As always, Zach was blown away by Frankie’s performance. Playing Frankie Valli had been Frankie’s dream and he gave it his all.  He had been taking voice lessons and his singing was better than ever. The music was fantastic and the performance over all was amazing. Zach knew he was biased but he had a feeling that Frankie was going to be a big hit and a huge draw for the production.

After the show ended, Zach, the family, and Frankie’s close friends all gathered in his dressing room to congratulate him.  Zach stood back as he watched everyone hug Frankie. Frankie was exactly where he always loved to be: the complete center of attention. 

Suddenly Frankie pulled back looking around, “Hey where’s my man?”

His eyes found Zach’s and he bounded across the room with a smile, throwing his arms around him as Zach lifted him in the air.

“You were amazing, Frankie. Seriously. Every time I see you on stage, I am completely blown away. I can see why this was your dream role. I think you were born to play it.”

Frankie leaned in and joined their lips. They forgot where they were for a moment as the kiss turned passionate, till Strigs called out, “Hey guys, either get a room or let’s get over to Frankie’s for the party.”

 

The last guests finally left Frankie’s at about 2am.  Ari retreated to her room, pleading with Frankie and Zach to keep it down since she was exhausted.  Frankie smiled at her as he led Zach into his room. He closed the door then turned and looked at Zach with a bit of a wicked smile.

“I thought they would never leave,” Frankie said. “I have been wanting to get you alone for hours. We have a lot to celebrate.”

“We do indeed,” Zach agreed. “Get over here, handsome.”

Frankie walked toward Zach and as he kissed him pushed him backwards till he landed on the bed.  Frankie stood above him and seductively took off his tank top, then slowly unbuttoned his tight jeans and pulled them off till he was standing in front of Zach wearing just a pair of tight pink briefs.  Zach was sitting on the edge of the bed as Frankie stood in front of him. Zach never tired of looking at Frankie. His body was perfect.  Zach reached up and ran his hands over his chest and nipples then lowered his hand, cupping his already hard cock.  Frankie groaned as Zach pulled Frankie’s underwear down and leaned forward, licking up his length, cupping his balls.  Zach teased Frankie, licking his cock and running his tongue around the head, capturing the liquid already leaking out.

Frankie tangled his hands in Zach’s hair and pushed his head down, needing Zach to take more. Finally Zach relented, taking his entire cock into his mouth. He loved giving head to Frankie, feeling the weight of his cock running down his throat.  It had been a month and Zach missed it.  He was so lost in what he was doing that he was surprised when Frankie pulled away.

“Take off your clothes. I want to fuck you,” Frankie said in a husky voice. He reached down and helped Zach take off his shirt then watched as Zach worked his pants off and pulled off his boxers.

“I have missed you so much, Zach. You are so gorgeous. So slim and buff. I swear no one turns me on like you do.”

Zach blushed as he pulled Frankie down on top of him and joined their lips. They stayed like that for a few minutes, caressing each other and kissing passionately as their hard cocks rubbed against each other.

Finally Frankie pulled back and said, “Turn over my love.”

Zach lay on his stomach, burying his face in a pillow as Frankie pulled a bottle of lube from his nightstand.  He lay down next to Zach, kissing him on the back of his neck as his middle finger teased Zach’s rim.  Zach shivered with anticipation, moaning into the pillow as Frankie continued to run his finger around his rim. Finally Frankie pushed past the muscles and began working the hole open with his finger until he could put a second finger in. It had been a month since they’d had sex and Frankie wanted to make sure Zach was ready,

As his third finger went in, Frankie brushed against Zach’s prostate and Zach groaned loudly pushing back against Frankie’s hand. 

“Please Frankie. Please, I’m ready… need you.”

Frankie pulled his hand out and quickly rolled a condom onto his length coating it with lube.

Zach turned over onto his back.

“Wanna do it this way. Wanna see your face,” Zach said, still breathing hard.

Frankie smiled and leaned down kissing Zach and caressing his face. Then he sat up and lined himself up, slowly pushing his cock inside of Zach. 

Zach cried out with a mixture of ecstasy and pain. Frankie paused to let Zach adjust until Zach pushed back against him and urged Frankie to move. Frankie began thrusting slowly, watching Zach.  Seeing Zach’s beautiful face in the throes of passion was such a turn on. They had traveled a long way to get to this point.  Having great sex had never been a problem for the two of them. It was always great. But now it went beyond that. Because there was no drama and no fear of the unknown. Their love was solid, it was mutual, they were a team. Team Zankie. And Frankie knew they were both in it for the long haul.

As Frankie’s thrusts became more erratic, Zach was coming undone. Frankie reached out and began stroking Zach’s cock in rhythm with his thrusts.  Zach let out a loud groan as he came into Frankie’s hand. Three strokes later and Frankie filled the condom, then fell onto Zach’s chest as they both struggled to catch their breath.

Finally Frankie got up saying, “Be right back.” He disposed of the condom and brought a towel back to bed so they could both clean themselves off.

Frankie lay down with his head on Zach’s chest as Zach stroked his back.

Suddenly from outside the door, they heard Ari’s voice, “That WASN’T very quiet boys!”

Zach and Frankie looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“You’re just jealous that I got laid tonight and you didn’t,” Frankie teased loudly.

“You’re right! Fuck you both. I love you, GoodNIGHT!” Ari sang out.

 

**July 2023**

Zach stood outside the hospital pacing. Where was Frankie? They had both gotten the call and agreed to meet outside in a half hour. It had been 45 minutes.

Finally Zach saw a cab pull up and Frankie got out, throwing some money at the driver as he ran toward Zach. 

“Oh my God, so sorry! I could NOT get a cab!! Let’s go,” Frankie said breathing hard. 

They dashed into the hospital and went straight to the Information Desk.

“Which floor is maternity?” Zach asked.

“Fourth floor, elevators are back and to the left,” the elderly volunteer said with a smile. “Congratulations!”

Zach grabbed Frankie’s hand as they speed walked to the elevator. As the elevator slowly climbed, Frankie turned to Zach and hugged him tightly.

“I can’t believe this is finally happening,” he said into Zach’s chest.

“Me either. I’m so excited. And maybe a little bit scared.” Zach said with a chuckle.

Zach and Frankie had settled into their New York life with ease. Zach moved there after his year at Pine Crest ended.  His family had been sad to see him leave Florida but excited for the opportunities he had in New York. And since they had relatives in New York, there were plenty of excuses for visits.

Zach adjusted to the routine at The Calhoun School with ease. He was a popular teacher and had great results with his math courses. He also helped with extra curricular activities including co-coaching the co-ed golf team and advising the school’s debate team.  After teaching there for three years, he felt very much at home.

On their two-year anniversary, Frankie took Zach on a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate.  On the first night as they stood on the dock looking out at the vast sea, Frankie pulled a small box out of his pocket and turned to Zach.

“Zach, it’s not too often in life that you get a chance to fix something that you did wrong the first time. I know it was fate that pulled us back together and I also know that I never stopped loving you. You are the love of my life, my soul mate, and the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love you as much today as I did when we first met and I never stop thanking God for putting you in my life. Will you marry me?”

Zach nodded silently, unable to speak as Frankie placed the platinum ring on his finger.  Zach wiped away tears, as he managed to croak out, “Yes I’ll marry you, Frankie. I love you forever and for always.” 

They spent the rest of the cruise celebrating their engagement, as Frankie made sure that all the other guests and staff knew of their impending nuptials. 

They got married eight months later in an elaborate black tie wedding in New York. Zach would’ve been just as happy eloping to Las Vegas but he knew Frankie wanted the wedding to be spectacular. Which it was, of course. And even Zach had to admit that it was incredibly special celebrating with both of their families and all their close friends including some of their Big Brother cast mates. With Frankie’s fame, the wedding was featured in People Magazine and made headlines throughout the country. 

They had talked about children on and off.  Finally they determined it was time.  They decided to use a surrogate for their first child, then hoped to adopt another child within a couple of years, possibly from Africa. Frankie told Zach that he wanted Zach to father the child.

“You are a beautiful man and I love you more than life itself. And I happen to know that you have amazing sperm,” Frankie had said with a smile and a wink.

The surrogate process was a lot of work and an agonizing ordeal. First they chose an egg donor, using a company that had binders and binders of possible candidates. They found a beautiful woman who was a college graduate, with a double major in Chemistry and Music.  She was planning to go to medical school.  She had clean health history and no major health issues within her family.  

Once they chose the egg donor, they then had to find a surrogate. After interviewing countless women, they finally found Laci. They hit it off with her immediately. She was warm and friendly with a wicked sense of humor. She had been a surrogate one time already and loved being able to provide a child to couples who for one reason or another couldn’t have children of their own. They both knew right away she would be an ideal surrogate for them.

Laci had called a few hours earlier to let them know that her water had broken and she was at the hospital with her sister, Sheri, who was also her Lamaze coach.

Frankie and Zach finally found Laci’s room.

“Hey guys! I thought you’d never get here,” she exclaimed. “You remember Sheri right?”

They all exchanged greetings.

“You look great, Laci. How’s it going?” Frankie asked.

“Well… better now,” Laci said. “They finally gave me an epidural. It’s probably a good thing you just got here. An hour ago I was a raging bitch and might’ve torn your heads off for getting me in this predicament in the first place!”

“You still want to be in the room for the birth?” she asked.

“Yes!” they both said eagerly.

Zach and Frankie had watched some videos and attended some classes so they knew what to expect.  Laci was a very open and warm person and had absolutely no qualms about letting them witness the birth.

Frankie texted his mom that they were at the hospital and that the baby would likely be born within the next four or five hours.

Three and half hours later, the doctor told Laci that she was fully dilated and it was time to get this baby out.  The mood in the room had gotten more serious. Laci was once again in some discomfort as the need to push was overwhelming.

With Sheri on one side holding her left hand and Frankie and Zach on the other both grasping her right hand, Laci cried out as she repeatedly bore down. She was getting exhausted.

“You’re doing great, Laci.  Hang in there,” the doctor soothed.  “One or two more pushes.”

As the next contraction hit, Laci squeezed their hands and screamed out as she pushed hard.

“Okay stop, the baby is crowning,” the nurse said.

As Frankie and Zach watched, the doctor eased their baby out, head then shoulders then body then feet.  It was the most amazing thing they had ever seen and both of them were in tears.

“It’s a BOY!” Dr. Epstein said with a smile.  He quickly suctioned the baby’s mouth and nose out and within seconds the room filled with the joyous sound of a baby’s cry.  The nurses quickly took him over to the warming table to clean him up as the doctor continued to work on Laci.

“You guys go over and see your baby. I’m fine,” Laci said with a smile.

Zach and Frankie looked at each other, then slowly walked over toward the warming table. 

Their son had stopped crying as the nurses cleaned him up and quickly wrapped him tightly in a blanket, placing a little beanie on his head.

“He looks just like you,” Frankie whispered to Zach, “He’s gorgeous.”

“Do you have a name picked out?” one of the nurses asked.

Zach looked at Frankie who smiled and nodded.

Zach looked back at the nurse, “Yes. His name is Michael Franklin Grande-Rance.”

The nurse picked up the baby, then turned to Zach, “Well, say hi to your son Michael.”

Zach sat down on the sofa as the nurse placed Michael in his arms. Frankie sat right beside him, one arm around Zach’s shoulder as his other hand brushed against the baby’s hand. Michael immediately grabbed Frankie’s finger and stared silently and seriously up at both of them.

“Your daddies love you so much, Mikey,” Frankie said softly. “You are officially part of Team Zankie for life.”

Zach turned to him with a sly smile and kissed him softly on the lips. “I love you Daddy,” he whispered in his best Marilyn voice. 

Frankie giggled, “I love you too... Daddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed Pine Crest Kids!! Your feedback is always welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this story!! Let me know what you think.


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